2023 Oklahoma Arts Conference

"Promise in the Road Ahead"

Scott Smith
Scott Smith is an art teacher and a finalist for the 2022 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. He runs the advanced art program at Lawton Public School's Life Ready Center where the AP Art & Design program is in its second year, revitalized following a 15-year absence. Smith cites the influence of his teachers in his career choice and the legacy he seeks to build through his students. Smith's efforts on behalf of his art students include giving them opportunities for real world experience and chances to meet and learn from professional artists. He has arranged for students to provide contract work in illustration for authors, and he has brought in artists such as Tyson Todd Meade and comic book author David Branstetter to speak about their careers. Smith emphasizes the need for students to have ownership in their communities. His students have created murals throughout Lawton for the YMCA Armed Services, Elmer Thomas Park, and more. A mural located on Fort Sill Blvd. was a collaboration between the Lawton High School Art Department and United Way—the wall was previously a target for vandalism. Other projects have included a “Where the Wild Things Are” mural to promote reading, the creation of pieces for the high school's production of Beowulf 2.0, and a tile mosaic that is an interpretation of the Periodic Table of Elements in visual form. Currently, Smith's students are working on a five part mural for Comanche County Memorial Hospital. Several of Smith's students have gone on to have successful careers as artists, graphic novelists, and arts educators.

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