A team of individuals and organizations organized in April 2020. This working paper was developed in collaboration by the team who collectively carried out distinct and vital individual roles as authors, contributors and supporters.
Quanice Floyd authored this opinion piece. “For decades, senior leadership of primarily white institutions (such as AFTA) have acted as gatekeepers, hoarding power and blocking pathways for professional advancement in the field for BIPOC arts leaders. … while community-based and grassroots arts organizations who are actually doing “the work” struggle to keep it together.”
Published for the National Guild for Community Arts Education community and beyond, this is a representational collage expressing an uncensored perspective of Teaching Artists in the pandemic. This letter is an invitation to widen perspectives about the Teaching Artist experience. The piece includes a step-by-step checklist derived from the perspective of Teaching Artists as a guide to realize the shared goal to create a vibrant arts ecosystem that is equitable for all.
TAMA is a TA’s connection to best practices, other artists, and the community.
TOGETHER, we are stronger and more confident to reach career goals.
TAMA is a united voice of Teaching Artists of the mid-Atlantic region. We represent different art forms, and each artist brings a unique set of gifts to the TAMA community. We bring together Artists of various backgrounds and experience to work in concert with partner agencies, educational institutions, organizations and communities.
TAMA shows up for the professional Teaching Artist – connecting, celebrating, servicing, collaborating, and advancing our field in the local community, as a region, and on the national front line.
TAMA provides a platform where diversity lives freely, ideas are shared openly, and support for every talent is paramount.
TAMA is by teaching artists – this is not something others do for us – and about teaching artists, in support of our interests and needs, whatever we define them to be. We nurture a space for thoughtful listening so that we may engage in meaningful actions.
To provide innovative artistic experiences that will enrich participants of all ages and our shared communities.
Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic advances equity, inclusion, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity for every Teaching Artist and all artists in the arts sector, which is inclusive of the field of arts education and creative lifelong learning. Our members are recognized and valued as professional artists with vibrant and varied skills and talents who reflect the diversity of our communities, including identity, race, ethnicity, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs. TAMA members’ collective imagination, creativity, and intelligence benefits all sectors and brings art-learning and art-making to the heart of building our nation. We embody and promote an anti-racist and universally principled system and pedagogy that places people before profit and challenges the frameworks and policies of current organizations and business models. TAMA develops and shares resources explicitly designed to support the field and sector to further diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We believe Teaching Artists are professionals and that every Teaching Artist should have equal opportunity, access, and belonging to the field and sector.
To that end, TAMA promotes using the following resources to guide our members:
A small group of TAs in Maryland who, independently, had been working on TA networking and “building a hive mind,” began meeting together in 2017. Two years later the mid-Atlantic State Arts Agencies invited TAMA to present at their first TA Retreat in Central PA. By then, we had grown to be a DMV Collective, and interest for us to go regional was brewing!
In June 2019, with appointed State representatives, the TAMA Board conducted its first retreat and hashed out a strategic plan that addressed governance, communications, fiscal responsibility and programming/engagement. Read the TAMA 2022-23 Strategic Plan.
July 2017
January 2019
In attendance: Dave Fry, Mary Gresock, Mark McKenna, Jason Reed, Jennifer Ridgway, Wincey Terry-Bryant, Sue Trainor
Board meetings occur on the second Mondays of selected months at 4PM. TAMA Members can attend Board Meetings every April, September and December. Elected Directors/Officers also meet in January, June and October.
Subscribe to TAMA’s calendar and join us at the next TAMA Board Member Meeting!
TAMA’s Board is sixteen elected officials serving three-year terms. Each state and DC has a representative for statewide networking, communication, and advocacy. TAMA’s Executive Committee oversees the whole region, focusing on governance, membership, communication, advocacy, and development. The Board, along with its TAMA member advisory committees, supports, empowers, and advocates for Mid-Atlantic Teaching Artists.
If you’re a Teaching Artist who values personal growth and is passionate about contributing to the success of the field of Teaching Artistry, you might be a perfect fit for the TAMA Leader position! Inquire with the nominating committee about open Board and advisory committee positions or apply today!
Vice President Interested? Let us know.
Secretary Interested? Let us know.
Treasurer
Puppetry & Fiber Artist with a passion for sustainability.
she/her/hers
Director of Communications
Writer, Editor, & Teaching Artist striving to create brave spaces
Director of Development
Interested? Let us know.
Director of Membership
Master Teaching Artist and Arts, Culture, and "Eluvation" Specialist.
Delaware
Revealing the moment in a young artist's creation.
District of Columbia
Musician, TA, Author, Radio Programmer and Children’s Drumcussionist for Peace!
Maryland
Master Teaching Artist, Imagination Cultivator, Creative Collaborator and Community Builder.
they, them
New Jersey
Teaching Artist, Community Leader, Business owner, Creator
New York
Teaching Artist, community builder, installation artist, and maker.
Pennsylvania
Performance/Teaching Artist (Dance/Drumming/Creative Arts), Circle-work, Community Catalyst.
Vice President Interested? Let us know.
West Virginia
Appalachian Painter, Maker, Teaching Artist; specializing in creative problem solving!
Representation is needed in
DE, DC, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and WV.
Interested? Let us know.
Board Representative Committee Chair
Email the committee
Master Teaching Artist, Imagination Cultivator, Creative Collaborator and Community Builder.
Maryland Representative
Email the committee
Visual Artist & Master Teaching Artist. Inspiring Others to Create.
Donations to TAMA give Teaching Artists a home where they can build their individual practice, collegial relationships, and collective power to ensure they are contributors to the vibrancy of our nation’s communities.
A copy of the current financial statement of TAMA is available by writing PO Box 212, Riverdale, MD 20738-0212 or by emailing us. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401, (410) 974-5534.
Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic is a network that advocates for, supports, and empowers Teaching Artists in the mid-Atlantic region.
TAMA is an all-volunteer, non-profit endeavor and is free to join. Our vision is to create connections, answer each others’ questions, and share inspiration through our collective experience and wisdom. We grow together!
©2021 Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic
info@teachingartists.org
PO Box 212, Riverdale, MD 20738-0212
©2023 Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic
This form routes member questions to different emails based on their needs.
As professionals, we face the challenge of limited data about who we are, what we do and where we work, which makes it hard to advocate for and secure funding and policies that benefit us. But worry not! Your profile can help promote your work and provide data for our region. When filling out your profile, you can control who sees the content in every field. Visibility options include: everyone, only me, all members, and my friends. Just a heads up, the “Only Me” option includes TAMA administration so we can collect the data for the field.