On Sunday, December 8, Young Audiences gathered the innagural cohort of The Teaching Artist Studio for the first session of our new, eight-month professional development program. Working under the guidance of program leaders Allison Tigard (Programs Director, Young Audiences), Briana Linden (Teaching Artist Program Manager, The Right Brain Initiative), and Tony Fuemmeler (ETP Project Manager & Production Coordinator, Oregon Children’s Theatre), the 13 participating teaching artists focused on building community, articulating who you they are as artists, and exploring what is most important to each individual as a teaching artist. A few responses after the first gathering:

• I came in thinking “this would be a cool opportunity to learn new things” and left thinking, “I’m really inspired to create something meaningful that will contribute to the growth of ARTS IN EDUCATION!”
• I came in thinking “I might be bored or not exposed to new information” and left thinking, “I’m grateful for community and the special attention/care that everyone is committing to.”

Participants in the 2013-14 Teaching Artist Studio were selected through a competetive application process and include:

• Allie Hankins, Dance/Movement
• Anna Hoye, cyanotype/Photography
• Ashley Hollingshead, Theatre
• Caroline Oakley, Square Dancing/Music
• Devan Wardrop, Theatre
• Diane Jacobs, Visual/Drawing
• Emily Stone, Theatre/Dance
• Jessica Dart, Theatre
• Keren Ganin-Pinto, Dance/Movement
• LeBrie Rich Visual, Sculpture/Mixed Media
• Lisa Eisenberg, Visual/Literary
• Santigie Fofana-Dura, Music
• Serena Crawford, Literary