Workshops

Early Childhood (PK- Gr 2)

Joni Muller and Inge Winters

American School of Doha, Qatar

This job-alike is for teachers of Early Childhood art (PK-2). Depending on interests, we may split into smaller groups targeted toward different age levels, curriculum interests, or general strategies for teaching this unique age group. Bring questions or ideas from previous units or lessons and let’s learn from each other! 

Upper Elementary (Gr 3-5)

Carla Otero

American School of Doha, Qatar

This job-alike is for teachers of Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5). Depending on interests, we may split into smaller groups targeted toward different age levels, cross-curricular connections, or general strategies for teaching elementary. Bring previous units, other ideas, questions, and learn from each other. 

Middle School Art/ MYP

Klara Hermanek

American School of Doha, Qatar

This job-alike provides an opportunity for Middle School teachers to collaborate, deepen their understanding of the curriculum (both NCAS and MYP), and exchange practical strategies for effective implementation of the curriculum in diverse teaching contexts. Bring previous units or projects that have worked with your students, ideas, and questions, and let’s learn from each other!

High School Art and AP

Robyn Zellar

The American School in London, UK

What's in your toolkit? This session is for high school visual arts teachers—any course or discipline, including AP Art & Design. I’ll reach out beforehand to tailor the agenda to our group’s needs: what’s working in your classroom, what challenges you’re facing, and what strategies would be most helpful. Join me to connect, share ideas, and explore practical approaches together.

HS IBDP - New IB Syllabus

Liz Estudillo and Ryan Pace

American School of Doha, Qatar

This Job-Alike provides an opportunity for IB Visual Arts teachers to come together and engage with the updated framework, philosophy, and assessment structure of the new IB visual Arts course. The session is designed to foster collaboration, deepen understanding of the curriculum, and exchange practical strategies for effective implementation in diverse teaching contexts.

TAB - All Levels

Alisa Blundon

Saigon South International School, Vietnam.

 Join fellow TAB educators across grade levels for a job-alike focused on Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB). Whether you’re new to TAB or have been teaching this way for years, this session offers a chance to share, connect, and problem-solve with others who center student voice and choice in the art room. Facilitated by the newly appointed Asia Regional TAB leader, this informal gathering will offer time to celebrate successes, unpack challenges, and exchange resources as we deepen our collective understanding of what it means to teach for artistic behavior across cultures and age groups.

Creative Coiling - ES/MS   (hands-on)

Alicia Milne

Yew Chung International School, Beijing, P.R. China

This hands-on workshop will introduce art teachers to the fundamental technique of basket coiling, enabling them to teach this engaging craft to their students. Participants will learn to create a starter circle by wrapping and coiling yarn around a central fibre, and, time permitting, build walls to form a complete basket.

Culture Creations - UES/MS (hands-on)

Elizabeth King

Bavarian International School, Munich, Germany

Experience hands-on activities exploring the concept of the visual communication of culture through artefacts. Engage your students in investigating how identity is informed and expressed through Visual Culture and Material Culture in both Globalized and Native contexts.

Watercolor Maps - MS (hands-on, discussion)

Tess Hitchcock

International School of Florence, Italy

In this workshop, you'll learn how to guide students in creating a personalized watercolor map that represents their own identities. They'll learn valuable watercolor techniques as they design landmarks that symbolize their favorite places, memories, or passions. This project encourages self-expression and helps students feel more connected to their art and their peers. It's a perfect project to get to know students and allow them to show who they are to their communities. contexts.

10 drawings in a class: Breaking the fear of drawing! - HS (hands-on)

Domingo Martinez

The American School in London, UK

In this interactive workshop, you will experience 10 drawings in a class, a sequence of experimental, accessible exercises that reframe drawing as play, perception, and personal discovery rather than perfection. By engaging with practices that move from intuitive scribbles to refined observation, participants will explore strategies to help adolescents, who often lose confidence in their creative abilities around age 13, reconnect with drawing as a tool for curiosity, courage, and self-expression. The session models how to foster a classroom-as-studio environment where risk-taking, joy, and collaboration empower students to see drawing not as intimidating, but as an essential way of engaging with the world.

Clay Dragon Eyes - All levels (hands-on)

Tabatha Waller-Hefko

American International School of Budapest, Hungary

In this workshop, art teachers will experiment with clay through a hands-on project that emphasizes building, layering, and texturing techniques. Participants will practice constructing forms with add-ons, explore surface textures and patterns to create a dragon eye. The teachers will consider how these processes can be adapted for the classroom. While finished pieces won’t be kept (the clay will be recycled), teachers will gain valuable experience working with the material and leave with practical strategies and project ideas to use with their own students. 

REEL TIME: Shoot Like a Pro - HS (hands-on)

Robyn Zellar

The American School in London, UK

Learn how thoughtful camera shots, used by masters of cinematography, can strengthen visual storytelling in your students’ work. Explore how perspective, focus, and camera movement can help students create more impactful and memorable time-based visuals. Whether you’re new to filmmaking or looking to teach a 4D unit but don’t know where to start, this workshop is for you. Bring your phone to shoot reels that can be assembled into a video montage in iMovie.

Urban Sketching Souq Waqif

Step into the heart of old Doha with a guided sketch walk through Souq Waqif. Surrounded by traditional architecture, bustling market stalls, and vibrant street life, this experience invites you to slow down and see Doha one drawing at a time.

Photo Walk Mina District  

Join us for a Photo Walk in the Mina District of Doha, Qatar! This interactive event emphasizes team-building in conjunction with creative photo challenges. Explore vibrant street scenes, unique architecture, and hidden details while connecting with fellow art teachers, sharing ideas, and gathering fresh inspiration for your classrooms. Plan ahead by downloading the Goosechase app on your phone and get ready to discover the Mina District through a new artistic lens!

Public Art Bus Tour

Step into a living gallery with this curated two-hour tour that reveals the city’s vibrant outdoor art landscape. From Damien Hirst’s striking The Miraculous Journey at Sidra, and Louise Bourgeois’ Maman at the National Museum of Qatar, Doha has become a stage for world-class creativity. Along the way, you’ll encounter pieces that weave together local heritage, global perspectives, and bold expression—transforming streets, plazas, and public spaces into immersive cultural experiences.

The Cutting Studio and M7 Tour & Walk around Msheireb 

Visit Doha’s first premium garment manufacturing hub, where visionary CEO Ghada Al Subaey and her team transform ideas into Made in Qatar fashion. The Cutting Studio is a creative space for designers to grow, collaborate, and embrace sustainable practices.

We will tour Msheireb—an area with award-winning architecture that blends Qatari heritage with modern design—and explore M7, Doha’s dynamic hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in fashion, design, and tech. Together, these experiences offer an inspiring journey through creativity and culture at the heart of the city.

Cultural Connections through Folk Art - ES (hands-on)

Pranati Mehta

American School of Bombay, India

Discover the beauty of Warli art, a traditional Indian folk style that tells stories through simple shapes—triangles, circles, and squares. In this workshop, you’ll learn the cultural significance of Warli art, explore its basics through demonstrations and videos, and create your own scenes inspired by everyday life. We’ll also look at ways to adapt this accessible art form for different elementary age groups, with practical techniques, materials, and teaching resources to support classroom use.

Mural Painting with Elementary - LES (discussion and tour)

Joni Muller and Inge Winters

American School of Doha, Qatar

In this workshop, we will share the process of creating a collaborative mural with elementary students. Participants will see examples of murals painted at our school and learn how we, as art teachers, partnered with homeroom teachers to design and guide a mural project with our grade 2 students. We will walk through each step—from brainstorming and sketching ideas, to painting as a team—showing how the project supported creativity, collaboration, and school pride.

Against Stereotype: Visible & Purposeful  - MS/HS (presentation + hands-on) 

Petr Dimitrov

International School of Prague, Czechia

This session will start with the sharing of examples, projects, and practices that allow learners to take ownership of their school’s environment through creating visual interventions (murals, public artworks) and give them a sense of true visibility and purpose at the International School of Prague.

Possibilities in Cyanotype - All Levels (hands-on) 

Anna Sudra

 International Community School of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This workshop looks at the possibilities with cyanotype, from straightforward plants/objects to developing your own negatives, working with stencils, double exposure, and toning your cyanotypes.

When Words Meet Images: Visual Storytelling through Bookmaking and Journaling -   All levels (hands-on)

Tony Flanagan

International School of Debrecen, Hungary

This hands-on workshop explores the intersection of writing and visual art through bookmaking, zines, and journaling. Participants will experiment with strategies to integrate text and image, inspire storytelling, and encourage process documentation. Drawing from wordless picture books, visual journaling, and interdisciplinary practices, the session highlights how students can merge words and images to foster agency and connect to IB global contexts. Educators will leave with adaptable activities and practical tools to cultivate visual storytelling and creative literacy.

Embodying Texture: New Approaches in Contemporary Applications  - HS (hands-on) 

Marjana Kostojcinoska Uzunceva

NOVA International School Skopje, North Macedonia

This project is adaptable for different educational levels, ranging from lower to higher grades. It can be modified and tailored to meet the individual needs of each student. The approach includes simple methods as well as more advanced applications of skills, demonstrating how texture can be utilized in various contexts through a contemporary lens. 

Scaffolding Centers - ES (hands-on)

Kristin Anson

Overseas School of Colombo, Sri Lanka

This interactive workshop invites art teachers to explore practical ways to design and manage classroom centers that welcome all learners while challenging them to grow. Participants will dive into the concept of low entry / high ceiling—centers that are simple enough for every student to begin with confidence, yet open-ended enough to stretch advanced artists toward deeper thinking and higher levels of craftsmanship.

Structured Collaborative Observation/Writing Activity for Analysis - HS (hands-on)

Sofia Stella Soselios

American Community School of Athens, Greece

This workshop introduces a collaborative, timed writing protocol that guides students through the four stages of art criticism—Description, Analysis, Interpretation, and Judgment. Using a rotating group format around a central artwork, students build deeper thinking, richer vocabulary, and stronger writing skills while engaging with peers. Refined through years of action research, this adaptable strategy supports all learners and equips art teachers with a powerful tool for fostering critical observation, structured analysis, and meaningful classroom dialogue.

VR Art - MS/ HS (hands-on)

Andrea Davis -Thigpen

American School of Doha, Qatar

In this workshop, students will step into virtual reality and use digital tools to create artwork in an immersive 3D space. Instead of painting on paper or sculpting with clay, participants will design in a limitless virtual canvas where they can walk around, interact with, and even enter their creations. The session will explore how technology changes the way we imagine, create, and share art, while giving you a chance to experiment, collaborate, and express your creativity in new and exciting ways.

Stories in Fabric: Collage as a Journey from Personal to Global - All Levels (hands-on)

Megan Carpenter

International Community School of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This hands-on workshop invites art teachers to explore fabric collage as a powerful medium for storytelling and meaning-making. Through guided creative dialogue and artistic exploration, participants will connect personal narratives to broader cultural and global contexts—drawing inspiration from the ways fabric can serve as both material and metaphor.

Abstract Sculpture - MS/HS (hands-on)

Ryan Pace

American School of Doha, Qatar

Fun, quick, intro into the basics of sculpture focusing on familiarizing students with the Elements of Art and Principles of Design with inexpensive materials.

Creative Calm for Art Teachers - All Levels (hands-on)

Leela Young

GEMS Dubai American Academy, U.A.E.

 This workshop equips art teachers with practical nervous system regulation tools. Participants will explore hands-on creative activities to reset, release, and refocus. Together, we will also identify personal and classroom activating factors and learn how to respond to them with care.

Exquisite Corpse Print Party with Linoleum Blocks  (hands-on)

Liz Estudillo

American School of Doha, Qatar

Create your own linoleum print and join in a collaborative Surrealist parlor game to craft an imaginative Exquisite Corpse! This engaging session invites playful experimentation, sparks creativity, and celebrates our community of teachers as artists. Participants will experience the joy of making unexpected, whimsical, and surreal images together!

Hands-On Texture: Igniting Your Creativity (hands-on)

Carle Otero and Inge Winters

American School of Doha, Qatar

How does texture change your mood in your artwork?

This workshop invites you to explore and create artworks using a wide range of textures and materials.found in your classrooms.

It’s all about experimenting, letting go. and discovering new possibilities! You will  look around your environment with a "texture lens"!

Sketchbook Exchange (hands-on)

Maribeth Relano

International School Utrecht, Netherlands

Reconnect with your own artmaking while building creative bonds in the first-ever GATE Sketchbook Exchange! In this collaborative project, sketchbooks will travel across our network, with each participant adding a monthly entry before sending it on. During the workshop, you’ll create your first page and join the initial handover. By the end, each sketchbook will hold a rich collection of diverse artistic voices—a shared celebration of creativity within our GATE community. Commitment is one entry per month; postage at the participant’s expense.