The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
St. Gabriel School art instructor honored
St. Gabriel School art instructor Erin Chalhoub is the recipient of Artsonia’s 2022 Art Education Leadership Award. The award honors pioneers in the art education community who continuously inspire their peers and engage students.
Chalhoub’s peers and Artsonia selected her among thousands of instructors as one of 15 national winners of this award, according to a news release.
“While I put a lot of time and hard work into my teaching, it does not feel like a job. It is just a part of who I am, and I am honored and grateful to be recognized by Artsonia as a leader in arts education,” Chalhoub said.
Chalhoub is in her 15th year as an art instructor at the Concord Township school. She credits her students for fueling her inspiration to teach art.
“I absolutely love teaching art and sharing my love and passion with my students,” Chalhoub said in the release. “I work to promote an atmosphere that engages each and every student allowing them all to find success in their creative process.”
Chalhoub is one of thousands of art teachers from over 100 countries around the world who use Artsonia to showcase their student art, crowdsource lesson plans, and help fundraise for their classrooms. Artsonia, the world’s largest online student art museum with more than 90 million pieces of art, allows family and friends of student artists create and purchase organic keepsakes from the student art, and then gives back 20 percent of all revenue to the local art classroom.
“I love posting my students’ work to their digital portfolios on Artsonia,” Chalhoub said. “There are so many benefits to being able to document and digitally archive student work. I love being able to share their art with their families, friends, and community. The communication with families that Artsonia provides is priceless.”
Artsonia’s 2022 Art Education Leadership Award serves as a way to honor the passionate, dedicated instructors who teach their students to create and value art, produce innovative lessons, and continually motivate their peers on Artsonia.
“Artsonia strives to provide art educators a platform to inspire one another,” said Jim Meyers, CEO and co-founder of the company. “We could not thrive without the commitment and ingenuity of teachers like Erin who use their online gallery and lesson plans to motivate others. This Art Education Leadership Award is a way for us to recognize the hard-working, passionate people who help our children cherish art and cultivate their creative side.”