Our Vision:
To create a culture where communities are vibrant with creativity, where teaching artists can thrive, and the arts are at the heart of learning.
Our Mission:
- To uplift and expand the field of teaching artistry by empowering teaching artists with the tools to create transformational experiences through the arts.
Our Values:
- Community Building:
We believe community building fosters connection and belonging, deepening relationships and trust. We create safe and energizing spaces where all people can learn together, offering one another support, inspiration, and motivation.
- Inclusivity:
We are committed to creating an inclusive culture by offering accessible and equitable programming. We celebrate the unique skills, experiences, and expertise of each individual. We meet people where they are and support them with the tools they need to be successful.
- Experiential Learning:
We believe that experiential learning develops the confidence to embark on a journey of discovery and creativity. We offer participatory arts-based activities which center the individual and build on lived experience through collaboration, resource sharing, and active engagement.
- Creativity:
We believe that creativity is innate and lives at the heart of learning. Creative practices build confidence, empathy, and create a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us.
- Learning and Knowledge Exchange:
We provide opportunities for open dialogue, drawing upon the expertise and wisdom of all program participants. We believe that sharing lived experience opens pathways for empathy, understanding, and equity.
About Us:
Gowri Savoor is a visual-teaching artist, whose practice includes sculpture, illustration, and writing. Born in England, she moved to the US in 2007. Savoor has been a teaching artist for over 20 years, with expertise in community building, arts integration, and project-based learning.
She has partnered with multiple organizations in the UK and across the US, including Community Engagement Lab (VT), Lincoln Center Education (NY), The Learning Alliance (FL), and ITAC—the International Teaching Artist Collaborative.
Savoor is the founder of A River of Light, an organization committed to bringing art to the community through participatory art events, parades, and installations.
Learn more about her work at: www.gowrisavoor.com
Heather Bryce is a teaching artist, educator, and choreographer focused on making the arts accessible to everyone. Bryce has expertise and passion for serving populations often under-represented in the arts such as older adults, people with disabilities, people living with dementia, and adults with Parkinson’s Disease. Bryce has over 20 years of experience as a teaching artist and educator.
In addition to co-directing Teaching Artists Connect, she works as a Teaching Artist for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (Education & Accessibility). Other organizations include: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Arts in Education & Community); American Dance Festival; and the Center for Arts Education. She holds her M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College.
Learn more about her work at: www.brycedance.com
Equity Statement:
- Teaching Artists Connect acknowledges the impact of systemic inequities on those who have generally been underrepresented in the teaching artist field, such as people who come from varied cultural, racial, socioeconomic backgrounds, and people with disabilities. We are committed to tackling and addressing these systemic inequities such as racism and ableism in the workplace, our communities, and the sectors in which we work. Teaching Artists Connect dreams of and works for an equitable community by:
- Acknowledging that we live and work on unceded lands which are part of the ancient homeland and territories of Indigenous Peoples. We recognize, honor, and respect these nations as the traditional stewards of these lands and waters.
- Welcoming teaching artists of diverse backgrounds through understanding barriers and challenges for underserved participants and addressing them within our own work.
- Amplifying the voices and perspectives of those from cultural backgrounds and lived experiences that are different from our own and working with clients to diversify the teaching artist field.
- Developing teaching artists’ ability to identify and understand the cultural lineage of their creative work and embed that understanding in their practice.
- Collaborating with other artists from the source origin of the work.
- Practicing cultural humility as we learn from and amplify voices and perspectives of those from cultural backgrounds and lived experiences that are different from our own. This practice includes acknowledging and learning from our mistakes while continually integrating this learning into our practice.