What is a Teaching Artist

Artists are exemplary problem-solvers and life-long learners, constantly striving to improve, deepen and refine their artistic expression. They work specifically with the skills of creativity: discovery, wonder, and recombining the stuff of the world into new knowledge. If human beings have managed to survive through the development of skills that allow us to collaborate: language pictures, gestures, movement, "it follows that the arts originate deep in our intelligence," in our ability to survive by means of creating and understanding metaphor. Education in the arts is an irreplaceable medium for developing this intelligence. Successful teaching artists help provide a tangible link between the creative process and all kinds of learning, and they make manifest in classroom and community settings the human drive to survive by making meaning our of the world. For many years, professional artists have practiced their art and made significant contributions to the field of arts education. Working individually and within arts education programs, they have used their creative processes to bring learners into arts experiences. Teaching artists are a crucial resource for the future of arts education, the arts in general, and the overall process of learning. The role of the teaching artist is an integral part of the overarching arts education constellation, which includes: short and long-term school and after-school residencies. arts experiences, including in-school performances by professional artists, as well as field trips to studios, galleries, museums, and performances. integrating the arts throughout the curriculum as a way of engaging all types of intelligence's in the learning process arts education standards backed up by ongoing curriculum-based arts instruction in K-12 grades. discipline-specific learning in the arts: visual art, dance, theater, music, poetry lifelong learning in the arts through community arts events, classes and workshops Nationally recognized actor, teaching artist and author Eric Booth has developed the following definition of the teaching artist: “A teaching artist (artist ­educator) is a practicing professional artist with the complementary skills and sensibilities of an educator, who engages people in learning experiences in, through, and about the arts.” Karen Erickson, writing in the Teaching Artist Journal www.teachingartists.com notes three distinct areas of their work where successful teaching artists demonstrate mastery. They should: Be an accomplished artist in their field. Provide expertise in teaching that includes organizational abilities, people management, knowledge of organizational systems (e.g. schools, prisons, park districts, socials service organizations, etc.) ability to teach (to transfer to others governed by age, gender, physical, cultural and brain development considerations) and knowledge about current trends in the organizational system into which they have been hired. Be able to operate with business acumen. Practicing your Art Form and Teaching A teaching artist, by definition, is a two-career professional: a working artist and a working educator. A working artist is involved in an ongoing process of discovery, problem solving, discipline and refinement of skills in their discipline. As a working educator, it is essential that the artist is also developing a knowledge base and skills to be an effective partner in education. Achieving a meaningful balance between these two professions, whereby one feeds the other, is an ongoing process that requires a deepening awareness for the teaching artist of what their teaching brings to their art and what their art teaches them about learning. Expanded professional development for teaching artists in other education skill areas is also critical to the on-going growth and success of arts education programs: assessment strategies: developmental learning stages; special need of different groups of learners; in-depth familiarity with curriculum and learning standards; conflict resolution; understanding the basics of the classroom teacher's daily life at school; and keeping up with arts education research in various theories and models. It is equally important that teaching artists be supported in continuing to grow and develop as professional artists. There is significant integrity derived in the classroom experience from the energy and focus of an artist who is dedicated to the ongoing growth of their creative expression. The most effective teaching artists continue to deepen their awareness of the creative fuel they derive from teaching, and the creativity that the practice of their discipline brings to their classroom experiences. A teaching artist can develop skills for balancing these two careers by asking: "How does my teaching work inform my creative life?" "How does it help me see something differently, or develop a creative question that I want to explore further?" "How does the energy of the students I work with affect my energy as a working artist?" Successful teaching artists are enriched, both as professional artists and as effective educators by deepening their awareness of this crucial exchange. top

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