How to Become a Professional Teaching Artist

Are you a professional artist, musician, or dancer that wants to share your skills with others? Do you need some extra income to supplement your creative lifestyle? Check out these helpful hints on how to become a professional artist who teaches your creative skills to diverse groups, otherwise called a teaching artist. *Please be aware I use the term artist to encompass all forms of creative careers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• professional level creative skills
• telephone
• internet
• CV, or professional resume
• some experience working with others in a learning environment

1. First, write a resume, or CV that is based on your professional experience in your creative field. Have a section that emphasizes any experiences where you worked with the public, or with students.

2. If you lack experience working with children, consider volunteering with a local group where you can share your skills in a fun and rewarding atmosphere. Most teaching artist jobs are teaching children.

3. Use the internet to find out about different organizations and then offer to teach a workshop, or to help someone else teach theirs. This will help you attain some of the basic skills necessary in teaching your trade and will look good to potential employers.

4. Research local arts organizations that hire professional artists to teach various populations. As less funding goes to the arts in the public schools, more school districts are hiring teaching artists to complete short-term "Artist Residencies" that expose students to the arts while spending less money.

5. Find out what clearances are mandatory for your area to allow you to work with children. Apply for these before your first job and you will be one step ahead!

6. Once you have a list of potential organizations, send out your resume. Consider including a sample of your work, or a photograph. Make sure to call and follow up with the organization within a week, or so.

7. Have an interview? Make sure to bring examples of your work and documentation, if possible, of your volunteer experiences. Several employers told me that bringing in physical examples of my work convinced them to hire me right away since they knew I was serious and that it would translate well into a classroom.

8. 
   Students in the midst of a Fiber Art Installation

   Once you get your first job, don't forget that now that you are a teacher, you also become a student. Each time you teach a group, you will learn more about yourself, your chosen creative field and about how to become a better teacher. Be open to the experience and make sure to have fun!

Tips & Warnings

• Read local Call for Artists to find out about teaching opportunities.
• Other organizations to look into: the Visiting Nurse Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, local hospitals, schools and libraries.
• Research the age group that you are going to teach. Find out where they generally are in their development and it will be easier to write lesson plans.
• Most teaching artist jobs are as independent contractors. You will need to keep track of your own taxes and pay appropriately.
• Make sure to get parental approval before documenting a school/classroom experience.

Resources

• NYFA For Artists
• Teaching Artist Association website
• Lincoln Center Institue- great program!

[creativemayhem]

on 2/14/2008 P.S. A great tip from a friend of mine is to bring documentation, or examples of students' work from previous experiences to job interviews. This allows a more comprehensive vision of what you can bring to an art-making situation.

[WriterGig]

on 2/11/2008 Thanks for the tips! Another great niche is to have an art class for homeschoolers. Contact the local homeschooling group to get the word out, and there may already be a homeschool co-op set up that you can join and begin teaching at part-time. This often pays more per class hour than school jobs because the parents pay you directly and there is little or no overhead.