Lesley Art and Design (LA+D) alumnus Ian Torney has received an incredible honor—he’s been named Art Educator of the Year by the Massachusetts Art Educators Association, or MAEA. Torney earned his MFA from LA+D in 2008; he is a member of two organizations representing art educators —the Art Association of New England Preparatory Schools (AANEPS) and the Independent School Art Instructions Association (ISAIA).
Torney says earning his MFA “coalesced a number of tenants in my artistic life: my personal practice as a professional artist (an individual pursuit); and my professional practice as a visual arts teacher and as a gallery exhibition curator—both of which are outward-facing, about making connections in the arts with students, educators, peers and arts professionals alike, and that I continue to enjoy today. That degree 'kicked my butt' (as a good MFA should!) and served to focus my ideas and concepts as a painter, and remains as a pursuit that is ever-evolving; but it is the myriad of connections with people in the arts for whom I will be forever grateful.”
