The 2026 Young Audiences Arts for Learning National Arts in Education Conference: Telling Our Story aims to serve participants who are interested in the arts in education field at the local, state, and national levels. Conference participants include nonprofit administrators and executive leadership, teaching artists, teachers, and higher education faculty; a diverse group of individuals from the field engaged in improving student access to the arts and arts learning.
Visit the conference website here.
The 2026 conference will explore the concept of narrative; guiding questions include:
- How do we tell our story to different audiences?
- Which voices are centered in our stories, and how does this impact what is told, how it’s received, and how it’s retold and shared?
- How can narrative help us understand the impact of our work?
- How can narrative help us forge and sustain essential alliances to move the work forward?
- How can exploring narrative help us envision future directions and innovations of practice?
Practitioners from across the Young Audiences network and beyond are invited to present on their innovative work in exploring these questions, at all levels and roles within the organization.
Lead breakout session presenters will receive a $75 reduction in their registration fee.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS:
Reflect on how your proposal topic will align with the lens of the conference, as articulated above. Priority consideration will be given to presentations where participants walk away with concrete ideas for practical application and/or replication of great ideas. Conference breakout sessions will run 60 minutes and will be presented both days of the conference.
Examples of breakout topics include:
- Approaches to narrative that foster effective collaboration in arts and education between school and community partners
- Successful dissemination strategies to communicate outcomes and innovations in practice
- Use of personal narrative and storytelling in classroom and community settings
- Effective uses of the arts and new media or technologies in crafting a story
- Inclusive arts practices within and outside of the classroom for learners of all backgrounds and abilities to tell their stories
- Innovative business, operational, and development practices to communicate impact to various audiences
REVIEW FULL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HERE
TO SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL:
By 5:00 p.m. (EST) December 1, 2025, please complete the proposal questions below. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Gawlowski Pratt, PhD, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations (melissa@ya.org or 212-831-8110, ext. 100).