ITAC / International Teaching Artist Collaborative

I CO-FOUNDED ITAC IN 2012, THE FIRST AND LARGEST GLOBAL NETWORK OF ARTISTS WHO WORK IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES TO CREATE SOCIAL IMPACT. ITAC began as a conference in Oslo in 2012, when colleagues convened from 26 countries (many didn’t even know the term “teaching artist”). We had so much in common that we recognized that we really are one global workforce.

Teaching Artistry has arisen in every country on earth, and ITAC connects and strengthens this network with biennial conferences, hubs in different parts of the world, and programs that bring this previously isolated and invisible workforce together. Our members are known by many titles, including community artist, participatory artist, social practice artist, artist mediators (and just plain artist, in cultures that can’t imagine an artist wouldn’t be involved with community). Increasingly, teaching artistry is becoming the banner term for the field. We are now thousands of artists strong, and we’re growing steadily.

I work with ITAC every day to find new ways to help this field grow into its full potential. I’ve called teaching artistry “the sleeping giant of social change,” and it’s invigorating to see the world waking up to the power of this field to deliver outcomes where other interventions have failed to deliver: in healthcare, environmental crisis response, education, social justice, peacemaking, corporate and governmental advancement, and, of course, in the arts.

Joining ITAC is free, and the benefits are many: resources, programs, and a monthly publication filled with information and opportunities you won’t find anywhere else. Please join, to help this field grow. Join even if you are not a teaching artist but you work with them or are interested in what artists are doing to change the world. Join to show your support for teaching artistry.