Teaching Artists are professional artists, creatives, and culture bearers. We work with many different members of society, growing and deepening creative practices and creative thinking in our communities. We lift citizens’ voices through a variety of artistic mediums and, in so doing, develop empathy and understanding. We offer to heal, create connections and generate practical solutions to challenges in our communities. We add deeper engagement and dimension to education and lifelong learning experiences for HUMANS AT EVERY AGE OF THEIR LIFE. We bring the skills and perspective of working artists into schools, coordinating with and complementing the scholastic Fine Arts curriculum and enhancing students’ core academic skills. We offer programs in the general community in recreation centers, health centers, veterans’ programs, incarceration facilities, and more. The benefits of participation in the arts are well-documented; TAs offer not only arts experiences, but as educators, they also support individuals of all ages and demographics to grow as creators.
Teaching Artistry is an art form, and artists who pursue the Teaching Artist profession strive for excellence in our art-making and art-learning experiences.
As independent artists, we work with little connection to one another, and because Teaching Artists exist at the intersection of arts and education, long-standing policies overlook our vital contributions to our communities. The majority of Teaching Artists work without a labor union. Primarily hired as part-time or independent contractors, often paid by the hour or the length of service, we lack traditional benefits, such as healthcare contributions, pensions, sick leave, and the security of tenure.
While we are not arts organizations with physical locations, we are small businesses and professionals!
TAMA’s mission is to seed networks of TAs in local communities across the region and serve as an informational hub via a robust website and social media channels. Our vision is to create connections, answer each others’ questions, and share inspiration through our collective experience and wisdom. When TAs share what has been learned professionally and what questions remain in the field, everyone’s ability to provide quality art in the community grows.
Our mantra is: Stronger, braver, wiser together!
Your Support Means
TAMA is an all-volunteer, non-profit endeavor and is free to join. Your donation would cover TAMA’s small operation expenses, including expanding our website and coworking meetups and all the benefits these programs provide!
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 mid-Atlantic 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.
