The important role the arts play in elementary school classrooms will be at the centre of a conference held at Brock’s Hamilton campus on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Arts Matter: Integrating the Arts Across the Curriculum will invite 100 teacher candidates to participate in a variety of workshops focused on dance, music, visual and dramatic arts.

Now in its eighth year, the day of learning provides future teachers the opportunity to gain more experience and practice in the arts disciplines included in Ontario’s school curriculum, said Visual Arts Associate Professor Peter Vietgen.

“We’re also infusing indigenous education throughout the conference workshops,” he said, adding it’s an important topic for teacher candidates to learn about. “They should feel comfortable introducing indigenous education in their future classrooms.”

In this year’s visual arts workshop, for instance, participants will use watercolour paints to explore symbolism in indigenous cultures and learn about creation stories.

The workshops are taught by external presenters.

“We want students to walk away with a passion to infuse the arts across the curriculum,” Vietgen said. “We want to ignite a spark about the importance of the arts. Our young people need the arts in their schools now more than ever.”

The conference, held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is hosted by the Faculty of Education arts team.

More information about the conference is available on the Faculty of Education website.