HERKIMER — Herkimer Central School District art teacher and Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Arts in Education Coordinator Heather McCutcheon recently traveled to Texas to participate in an art conference and accept the top national Youth Art Month award on behalf of New York State Youth Art Month.

McCutcheon is co-chair of New York State Art Month, which received the Council for Art Education’s Youth Art Month Claire Flanagan Grand Award during the National Art Education Association 2023 Convention from April 13-15 in San Antonio. 

“I have been a chair for eight years and this is the first time we won the top award,” McCutcheon said. “It has been a lot of work building the program in New York state.”

McCutcheon received the award along with co-chair Donnalyn Shuster, a retired art teacher from Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District, during the NAEA general session on the main stage of the conference with about 1,000 people in attendance. A third co-chair, Tracy Berges, an art teacher at Suffern Central School District, was unable to attend.

McCutcheon also took on various other leadership roles during the conference, put on a presentation and participated in workshops that she said will help her as both an art teacher at Herkimer Central School District and as the Arts in Education coordinator for Herkimer BOCES. She additionally participated in the Youth Art Month Celebration at the Youth Art Month booth.

Another role McCutcheon fills is that of secretary for the Art and Media Technology Interest Group, and she helped run the group’s business meeting at the NAEA conference. She presented about “Maker’s Marks for Ceramics” during the Art and Media Technology event featuring PechaKucha presentations.