Dr. Bryna Bobick, professor of Art Education in the University of Memphis College of Communication and Fine Arts, was named the 2027 Tennessee Art Education Association’s (TAEA) Art Educator of the Year.
Bobick is one of only 11 honorees recognized among educators in Tennessee at the annual TAEA Annual Awards which award educators who “exemplify the qualities and standards of what it means to be a great art educator, going above and beyond for their students.”
“It is an honor to be recognized because the state of Tennessee has an abundance of dynamic art educators teaching art from K-12 schools to higher education and in community settings,” Bobick said. “I am excited to bring this award to Memphis and have the opportunity to showcase the University and city to other art educators.”
Retired elementary art teacher, Shelley Momany, who became close friends with Bobick during their time as committee members for the development of a children’s exhibition at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art was among those who nominated Bobick for the award.
“Dr. Bryna Bobick has had a tremendous impact on the art education field through her work with pre-service visual art teachers. She is sending well-prepared art teachers into schools where they enrich the minds of young people by teaching them the power of visual art. Dr. Bobick teaches her college students that art has the ability to transform lives. Her students are informed, highly creative and prepared to teach meaningful lessons to students who learn how to apply skills, concepts and techniques into visual self-expression.”
Bobick’s love for the arts began at a young age and is not the only art educator in the family, her father is a retired art professor.
Prior to teaching in higher education, Bobick taught elementary art in LaGrange, Ga., as the only art teacher at Rosemont Elementary School, teaching close to 500 students each week for seven years. “Art Educators reach so many students because art education includes studio art, art history, graphic design and can be integrated into other subjects. The impact is endless because all students have the chance to be successful and involved in the visual arts,” she said.
Today she is instilling that same passion of the arts to students at the UofM. “It is wonderful to be a part of each student’s development in the area of art education. Upon graduation most teach art education in K-12 classrooms in Memphis. It is joy to see them shine in their individual art classrooms.”
Bobick is also ensuring their learning goes beyond the classrooms and into the community, working directly with the museum education department at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens this fall semester and in the spring semester, with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art to host the Community Art Academy which teaches weekly lessons based on works of art in the museum’s collection.
“I find community partnerships to be rewarding for all those involved. It provides ways to encourage positive relationships between the University of Memphis and the city. It offers the University students opportunities to teach in community settings and gain professional connections,” Bobick said.
Bobick received a Doctor of Education in Art Education and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia and a master’s in art education from the University of West Georgia. She has co-edited four books, edited five book chapters, and twenty-four peer reviewed articles. She is a past recipient of the West Region Teacher of the Year Award (2023), the Distinguished Service Within the Profession Award (2014-15) and the Higher Education Art Educator of the year (2012) from the Tennessee Art Education Association. Her research interests include civic engagement, museum education and curriculum development.
“Her role as a mentor extends beyond classroom teaching. Dr. Bobick applies her research interests in civic engagement, museum education, and curriculum development to shape Tennessee art educators in their personal and professional development,” Dr. Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt, professor of Art Education at Middle Tennessee State University said when nominating Bobick for the award. “Her artistic practices exemplify how to be a teacher-artist, whose artistry is informed by teaching and her teaching is informed by her art.”
