2022-2023 TAP Anthology

October 12, 2023

Category

Trainee Voices

Presenting the Graduates of the 2022-23 Teaching Artist Project (TAP) Class. This anthology is a compilation of their work, experiences, and the fun we’ve all had together this past year.

Community-Word Project’s TAP is in its 24th year and is the longest-standing professional development program open to the Teaching Artist field by a non-profit organization in New York City. TAP is a collective of diversely experienced arts educators training emerging and working teaching artists who are looking for a supportive community to engage in a self-reflective, justice-oriented learning practice in service of their teaching. The program prepares Teaching Artists to provide high-quality arts education to underserved youth in New York City public schools. The rigorous training involves intensive seminars in curriculum design and teaching techniques, led by CWP staff, Teaching Artists, and the TAP Cohort. During our training, participants gain invaluable classroom experience interning with mentor Teaching Artists, in both during-school and after-school multi-disciplinary collaborative arts residencies.

This year TAP has returned to being in person for community while still holding space to do this work virtually in our hybrid format. The focus of each session is “what is teaching artistry now?”. This includes, but is not limited to, workshops on virtual learning, power & privilege, facilitation, career development, and internships focused on applicable classroom skills, building a portfolio of work, administrative skills and experience.

This 2022-23 Class of 15 visual and media artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and theater artists learned how to transform creative processes into teaching tools, explored inclusivity and accessibility online, investigated their own power and privilege in the classroom, developed co-teaching and partnership skills, incorporated inquiry and reflection in their lessons, and helped students create work, remembering to remain relevant to students’ lives and to create community.

Special Thanks

We couldn’t have come this far without the generous support and encouragement of the The Birkhofer Family, The Dana Foundation, The Dan Paul Foundation, and the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, as well as the following government agencies: National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

TAP Staff & Facilitators

Adriana Guzmán I TAP Co-Director I for Custom Training, Community Programs & Facilitation
Amanda Newman I Manager of Special Projects & Evaluations
Dale Novella Anderson-Lee I TAP Co-Director for Communications, Operations & Facilitation
Javan Howard I TAP Co-Director for Curricula, Mentorship & Facilitation

CWP Staff

A special thanks to this year’s CWP Mentors.

CWP Mentor Teaching Artists:

Amanda Dettmann
Ann Noling
Emma B.B. Doyle
Gary DiVirgilio
Javan Howard
Jean Wong
Jenny Luna
Katherine Gorham
Libby Mislan
Mohammed Zenia
Morgan Sendek
Nichelle Ryan
Reilly Horan
Tatiana Barber
Veronica Bassman
Yael Ben Zioni

TAP Featured Guest Artists:

Special thanks to all of our arts-in-education partners who make up the TAP Cohort and helped make this session a unique collaboration. This spring, we were able to offer 32 collaborative elective seminars facilitated and hosted by various arts organizations. These series of professional development seminars and panels were available to Teaching Artists outside of TAP and that was made possible by the collaborative efforts of CWP and the following organizations:

ArtsIgnite (Formerly ASTEP)
ArtistYear
Arts for All
ArtWell
Brooklyn Arts Council
City Lore
Community-Word Project
Dedalus Foundation
Dreamyard Project
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
Marquis Studios
National Dance Institute
Opening Act
Teaching Artists Guild (TAG)
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
USDAN Summer Camp For the Arts
Radici Studio
The Town Hall

Over the spring, our TAP trainees participated in a series of workshops, seminars and fieldwork sessions to complete the program. The core workshops were dedicated to creative elements, self-exploration, reflection and assessment, exploring power and privilege in the classroom, exploring accessibility and inclusivity, and art as activism. Throughout the training, TAP held a series of elective seminars in collaboration with the TAP Cohort, and each trainee was placed one of the following fieldwork tracks:

Inclusive & Collaborative Art with Adriana Guzmán
Facilitation & Curriculum Design with Javan Howard
Arts Education Administration with Dale Novella Anderson-Lee

In celebration of their creativity, we are sharing each TAP graduate’s work and artistry in this anthology. This compilation includes biographies, memorable moments, photographs, quotes, artistic samples, and more to give you a full picture of their accomplishments this year.

A Letter from the TAP Facilitators:

Dear TAP Class of 2022-23,

Congratulations beautiful humans! Welcome to the wonderful TAP Alumni world! We want to show our appreciation to you for committing to this program – your enthusiasm and dedication to TAP has been inspiring. Our time together has been very filling, and we know it’s because each of you brought your authentic selves into the space. Over the last eight months, we’ve watched you grow as artists and educators, and we are very proud to graduate this class. We cannot wait to see how each of you will continue to change the world.

You took the time to look inwards while considering community, and society at large. Tuning into your creative elements, exploring power and privilege, and building community in your groups. Thank you for making our Saturdays so rich and insightful. We are living in unprecedented times and we do not know what the future holds, but we can find comfort in knowing that this group of artists & educators will continue to cultivate loving and inspiring spaces, and opportunities for all learners.

We are in deep gratitude for our time together, for your participation, for everything that you taught us and your peers and for everything that’s to come. The TAP community is always here for you, whenever you need it. It has been a privilege for us all to work with you. Please keep in touch!

With love and community,

Adriana, Dale, & Jay