The Results

The Teaching Artist Research Project (TARP) is perhaps the most significant ongoing study of its kind ever conducted, and it's all about us.

At a recent gathering hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts, a few early pieces of data were presented by project director Nick Rabkin, including these:

• 69% of the respondents were women
• The Median age is 44
• Mean income from teaching is about $17,850
• Mean total personal income is about $36,200

The rest of the presentation is posted here.

In the news: President Barack Obama gives a speech announcing that he has decided that more soldiers must be deployed to Afghanistan.

Also: Shirley Bassey - Don't Cry Out Loud

Where is the Love?

Nick Rabkin, who was a member of the Obama campaign's National Arts Policy Committee is overseeing the first national study of Teaching Artists.

You might think: First? What happened? I mean, did someone just forget we were here?

However it went down, these good people understand that they can't feel our pain without our participation. So they want you to contact them.

I know you're hurt.

But, sometimes in these situations it's OK to make the first move.

Data collected in the study will eventually be used as fodder for discussions about public policy related to arts education at the local and national level. The project focuses on teaching artists who live or work in the metro areas of Boston, Providence, or Seattle, in Chicago, and in several California communities including the Bay Area, L.A. and San Diego.

Register for the First National Teaching Artist Research Project here.