24 October New Statewide Teaching Artist Roster Launches October 24, 2019 Art, artists, Arts Ed, Educators, For Artists, For Educators, For the Public, News, Public Arts education, Arts educators, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, Ohio, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, OhioDance, Roster, TeachArtsOhio, Teaching artists, VSA Ohio 0 A new online tool that helps connect communities with well-qualified Ohio teaching artists is now available on the Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) website. The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is designed for use by the public, particularly educators, to assist in identifying teaching artists who can lead high-quality, arts-integrated creative opportunities that are aligned with academic content standards. The roster is searchable by art form and focus, geography, and other key criteria. Educators can currently browse 44 profiles of individuals or organizations specializing in a variety of arts disciplines—ranging from comic and graphic novels to film and media. Teaching artists are community members who partner with schools and other educational providers to supplement and build on existing arts and non-arts curricula. Those listed on the roster underwent an extensive application review and approval process before being accepted. Applicants were asked to provide sample lesson plans, their teaching artist philosophies, examples of specific arts-related teaching experiences, and a portfolio of past artistic accomplishments, among other materials. To maintain their status on the roster, teaching artists commit to participating in ongoing professional development to sharpen their skills necessary to collaborate with schools, educators, and learners of diverse abilities and backgrounds. The roster will be updated annually to ensure that returning artists’ information remains current and to give more artists the opportunity to apply. OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins said the roster presents exciting possibilities for further collaboration between teaching artists and communities. “The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster offers Ohioans the opportunity to engage with high-quality teaching artists who are experts at creating innovative, impactful arts learning opportunities together with educators and administrators,” she said. “All of us at the Ohio Arts Council, in partnership with roster partner organizations, look forward to supporting our students, teachers, artists, and communities through the use of this new resource. Students can benefit from performances, workshops, artmaking, and so much more through teaching artist residencies.” The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is a partnership between the Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, OhioDance, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and VSA Ohio. These partner organizations share administrative maintenance responsibilities and manage the roster and related professional development opportunities. Teaching artists interested in applying to join the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster can do so in the spring of 2020, when applications will again be accepted. The roster is open to working artists living in Ohio. To access the online Ohio Teaching Artist Roster or to learn more, visit oac.ohio.gov/Resources/Ohio-Teaching-Artist-Roster or contact OAC Arts Learning Coordinator Jarred Small at jarred.small@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-4481. ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov. ### Article by Jarred Small, Arts Learning Coordinator Featured photo: Teaching artist Aaron Anslow conducts a community arts event in ceramics with Switzerland of Ohio Local School District. Photo courtesy of Diane Burkhart, Switzerland of Ohio Local School District. Comments are closed.