All Yours

On the ATA Listserv, a celebratory post from ATA Executive Director Dale Davis:

Members of The Association of Teaching Artists Listserv,

We now number over 1,000, a record to bring together Teaching Artists in one forum! The listserv began in 2002 with twenty-five subscribers, and here we are in 2009, ATA's twelfth year. ATA began in New York State as the vision of a group of Teaching Artists who came together at the request of the Art In Education Program of The New York State Council on The Arts to consider the need and feasibility of forming an organization of Teaching Artists. And here we are in 2009 with membership in our listserv reaching Teaching Artists across the country and extending to Italy, Pakistan, Korea, and England.

On June 19, 2009 The Dana Foundation (www.dana.org) hosted a webposium on the Teaching Artist profession at the Seattle Art Museum. The webposium, "Artists in Classrooms: What is the role of the Teaching Artist?" can now be viewed in its entirely onhttp://www.teachingartists.com/

The webposium attracted 600 participants, another record to bring Arts In Education professional together to discuss essential questions on the Teaching Artist profession! ATA would very much like to hear from you on the webposium. After you have viewed it, please e-mail your responses to me at ddavis@teachingartists.com

Let us keep the dialogue going!

ATA is committed to its mission to advocate, strengthen, and serve

Teaching Artists from all disciplines in New York State and beyond.

The Association of Teaching Artists serves:

• To create a community of professional Teaching Artists;

• To empower the practice of Teaching Artists as a profession;

• To provide a network for communication and the exchange of resources;

• To collaborate with New York State and national Arts In Education

organizations and agencies;

• To collaborate on quality professional development and training;

• To publically recognize and celebrate distinguished achievement in

the field of Art In Education.

Michele Kotler and Alice Johns-Seeger now leave the ATA Board after serving with distinction for many years. ATA thanks them for their service, and we will miss their guidance and hands-on help. ATA Board

Chair, Glenn McClure, will soon be announcing ATA's new Board Members.

ATA Board Members Glenn McClure and Russell Granet will both be at Empire State Partnerships Summer Seminar at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, June 19 - 23. If you will be attending, please engage them with your thoughts and ideas on ATA's mission! ATA always welcomes the opportunity to speak with Teaching Artists!

ATA has a small budget. We did receive funding from The New York State Council on the Arts this year, and we are most grateful. However, like all arts organizations, we, too, feel the effects of reduced funding.

Your support, in any amount, is important to us as we plan this year and plan towards a Teaching Artists conference next year. We appreciate your help, as Teaching Artists we are working togetherhttp://www.teachingartists.com/

Please let me hear from you with your suggestions and ideas!

Thank you,

Dale

Dale Davis

Executive Director

The Association of Teaching Artists

www.teachingartists.com

Hurrah for Dale Davis and all the members of ATA!

I know that life is not a competition, still, I think Professional Teaching Artists are winners!