Brenda Echeverry is a multidisciplinary artist and educator who works in public schools across NYC facilitating creative arts programming. She chooses to work with non-profit organizations that provide services to under-resourced communities. In the past, Brenda has tutored and mentored elementary-aged students as well as advocated for families in the child welfare system as a social worker. Brenda has a background in vocal performance, visual art, dance and musical theater. She enjoys incorporating these modalities into her professional work with others and uses them to practice a personal form of healing. She will begin her graduate studies in Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University in Fall 2020.
TAP Work:
Brenda worked with elementary students in Brooklyn at P.S. 84 with CWP teaching artists Valerie Hallier and Molly Goldman. The residency combined visual art and poetry to motivate students to explore different cultures and build community awareness. The school has a dual-language focus so Brenda felt inspired to teach a lesson based on the Mexican game Lotería that incorporated Spanish language and visual art. Brenda was also able to participate in many professional development workshops and seminars through TAP that offered insight into multiple art forms, facilitation skills and ways to incorporate mindfulness into practice.
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“One of the most memorable moments of this past year with TAP was the first salon event that we had together. The salon was an opportunity to share our own forms of creative expression. The experience allowed me to see another side of my peers that I felt so grateful to witness. There was such a mix of art forms that were exciting to learn about.”
