As evidence of the power and value of arts education
has mounted, the work of teaching artists has assumed new strategic meaning for the arts and education. These hybrid practitioners of art and education have pioneered a new generation of initiatives that transform young people’s lives, produce compelling and authentic art, and help build communities.

Teaching artists work in arts organizations, in schools, and a wide array of community settings, from parks and prisons to community schools of the arts.  They lead the outreach

and educational programs that are key to strategies to expand and engage new audiences.  They create decisive “gateway” experiences for young people and other audiences, and enrich experiences for existing ones.  They expand opportunities for early experiences in

the arts, particularly in public schools; and lower barriers to arts participation by providing informal education opportunities for adults.  Their best efforts in schools are redefining the roles the arts play in public education and transforming classrooms, school culture, and student experiences.  Teaching artists’ work is vital to the future of the arts, public

education and communities, yet we know very little about them. 

This year, the Center launched the first national study of teaching artists.  The Teaching

Artist Research Project (TARP) is a two-year initiative that will focus attention on the

human resources at the core of high quality arts education.  It will begin with studies of Chicago and Boston, and eventually include six cities.  It has three principal objectives:

 - It will collect demographic, economic, artistic, and educational data about teaching

artists.  Who does this work, what are their educational and artistic backgrounds, how

have they learned the skills of teaching artistry, and what are the terms and conditions

of their work?

- It will deepen our understanding of the supports, conditions, professional standards

and development that teaching artists need to do their very best work. 

- It will offer practical policy suggestions designed to support teaching artists and

advance their practice.   

TARP will help us understand more about the ecology of the field, and stimulate policy discussions focused on concrete and practical efforts to support the human resources of teaching artistry in each study site and nationally.   

The Center has partnered with the National Research Opinion Center (NORC) at the

University of Chicago to conduct the TARP study.  NORC is a nationally renowned

organization whose mission is to conduct high quality social science research in the

public interest.  Our approach will include focus groups, surveys, and in-depth interviews

that provide comparative data among the study sites.  For more information about NORC

and its projects, visit www.norc.org.

For information as the project develops, please join our listserv.