The exhibition at Columbia College Chicago’s C33 Gallery showcases the work of Chicago Public Schools art educators—practicing artists whose creative work often exists alongside their teaching.

The artists shaping Chicago’s next generation of creatives take center stage this spring at Columbia College Chicago. 

RE:CONNECT — An Educator’s Exhibition, on view February 16–March 12, 2026, at the C33 Gallery, showcases the work of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) art educators—practicing artists whose creative work often exists alongside their teaching. Presented through a partnership between Columbia College Chicago’s School of Visual Arts and CPS Department of Arts Education, the exhibition creates a space dedicated to honoring educators for their own artistic practices. 

“This exhibition is a celebration of the artists who teach and the teachers who create,” says Krista Wortendyke, associate director of the School of Visual Arts and assistant professor of instruction in photography at Columbia. “It recognizes that teaching and making are not separate identities, but deeply intertwined practices.” 

The exhibition coincides with the National Art Education Association (NAEA) Conference, taking place in Chicago March 5–9, positioning Columbia as a gathering place for educators from across the country. In addition to the exhibition’s opening reception on February 19, the C33 Gallery will host a NAEA Welcome Reception on Friday, March 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. 

Grounded in Chicago Public Schools’ Inner Core pillars—Identity, Relationships, and Community—RE:CONNECT highlights how these values shape both teaching and artistic practice. The works reflect personal history, mentorship, collaboration, place, and collective experience across classrooms and communities throughout the city. 

“Rather than presenting a single narrative, the exhibition becomes a constellation of perspectives that reveal how these pillars overlap, intersect, and inform both teaching and artistic practice,” Wortendyke notes. 

For participating educators, the exhibition offers recognition at a time when personal creative work is often overshadowed by the demands of teaching. 

“So often their creative labor is overshadowed by the immense care and energy they give to their students,” Wortendyke says. “By centering educators as artists, RE:CONNECT offers a moment to pause and honor the creative rigor, curiosity, and sustained commitment that teachers bring not only to their classrooms, but to their own artistic lives.” 

For visitors, the exhibition offers insight into the creative foundations that shape future artists long before they arrive at the college level. 

By opening its gallery to CPS educators and welcoming the broader art education community, Columbia reinforces its role as a connector across K–12 education, higher education, and professional creative practice. 

“At Columbia, we are makers who teach and know that making and teaching are inextricably connected,” Wortendyke says. “RE:CONNECT reflects the idea that teaching is itself a creative act, shaped by experimentation, risk-taking, and reflection.”

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