Now entering its eighth year, TheatreLink, Manhattan Theater Club's Internet-based distance-learning project remains the most exciting and most challenging initiative. MTC's Education Program had existed for seven years (since 1989 to be exact) before it started TheatreLink. During that early period MTC created an array of programs, all of them…

The authors believe that artists illuminate the human condition--the politics, the social climate, the economics of current thought, and the emotions behind it all. Artists participate in revealing truth. And truth illuminates the path away from fear. In their effort to celebrate and challenge the power of Teaching Artists and prepare the world…

In this article, the author asserts that if Teaching Artists "must excel both as educators and artists, mastering the theory and practice of both fields, as well as the unique theory and practice that lies at their intersections" (Larson 13), then teachers who embrace the arts must master the creative process and experience what it is…

This article presents the Arts Residency Communication Checklist. This checklist is designed to be used in an initial planning meeting or conversation between teaching artists and collaborating teachers. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive list of helpful points to discuss and useful information to provide. The checklist is divided into…

The mission of this article is to introduce just a few of the organizations that are expanding the teaching artist field by addressing the artistic, educational, and business needs of today's TA head on. For some organizations, supporting TAs is a facet of what they do; for others, it is all they do. Staying true to their creative nature, each…

Art in Education is generally considered a sideline, a secondary specialty, or something to be integrated into the primary curriculum, i.e. literacy and arts integration. But art is not secondary; it is primary in learning and in human development. Art is, in fact, necessary and optimal for learning to write, read, and perform arithmetic. This…

This research study, based on in-depth interviews, reveals the ways in which a select group of art education students and K-12 public school art teachers make meaning of their professional aspirations and career identity. This article focuses on the part of the study that examines the gender issues that were revealed during the interviews. It is…

Arts education was a component of the systemic change efforts of education reform of the last 15 years. What was learned? This article is an effort to give some shape to issues fundamental to the work of teachers in arts and learning. The author starts by discussing the definitions and purposes of arts education. He also discusses the evolving…

The primary responsibilities of Teaching Artists (TAs) have shifted over the last decade. Ten years ago many TAs needed to direct most of their energies toward literally getting through the doors of the schools and classrooms they served. They were often tolerated, but not truly embraced. With a few notable exceptions, the impetus for…

In this Research Review, the authors first look at a recent study of online content creation by teens in America conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project ("Teens as Authors of Web Culture," Review by Keidra Chaney). The study both confirms and challenges some common beliefs about teens and technology, and raises…

The many worlds of arts education began to grow into one worldwide community in March 2006. Twelve hundred arts education leaders, in delegations from 97 countries, attended the United Nation's Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's) first-ever worldwide arts education conference, held for four days in Lisbon, Portugal. The…

Abstract visual art is not for everybody. Some people find it threatening, uncomfortable, and often, inaccessible. Understandably, this can result in a lack of attention paid to nonrepresentational works of art in the visual arts curriculum. This article describes an experiential, hands-on, field trip that sought to demystify abstract sculpture,…

In this Research Review, various models of research found in a recent publication from ArtsConnection, New York, are discussed. The researchers for the first study look at research from each person's unique perspective and value the descriptive and analytical process of inquiry. The researchers in the second study focus on research as a heuristic…

In this article, the author talks about the "December 7, 1941 Project," a partnership between Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) and a local elementary school. The project brought together 4th and 5th grade students and teachers with community elders, artists and parents, using oral history and drama education to investigate memories…

In an effort to strengthen the authentic connection between theatrical work and classroom curriculum, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta Georgia has taken a new direction in their arts education programming. They now put their Theater for Young People performances and scripts at the center of all their youth-centered outreach work, including teacher…