Suzanne Joyal
Artist/ Advocate/ Educator. I believe the arts are too important to our cognitive development to hoard this resource in traditional arts education spaces which are often out of reach to many. I'm working on my Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Maine where my focus is on developing creative, accessible, culturally sustaining teaching practices for every educator.
Art is communication. Whether it has been while working with families in Zambia, students with disabilities, or newcomers building new communities, I have seen how the arts help us speak a common language. In 2021, I was honored as the Outstanding Special Needs Visual Arts Educator of the year by the CAEA. I have extensive experience teaching students with disabilities, providing PDs for educators and families, and building model programs utilizing the arts to better engage every learner. During my long tenure at Youth in Arts, I designed scaffolded, sequential visual arts curriculum to help students from under-resourced schools to utilize the arts to find their voice and develop the confidence to share it.
I gained invaluable insights during my time with the Neuroarts Blueprint initiative, an experience that has truly propelled the next phase of my professional journey. I am now pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Maine, where my research focuses on how visual arts strategies can be effectively taught to after-school educators. My goal is to empower these educators to use the arts as a tool for enhancing literacy outcomes among their students.
I use the pages from discarded books in my paintings and sculptures, reinterpreting stories and telling my own in the process. I have exhibited my paintings and sculptures at galleries throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Interests
Visual Arts, Nature, using my hands for any kind of making.
