Mass Cultural Council believes that creativity inspires a better world. Teaching artists play a crucial role in the continuing life of that creativity, both as creative practitioners and as educators of developing artists. It’s essential to support their work.
We have compiled a curated list of resources for teaching artists in Massachusetts:
Networking and Collaboration
- CreativeGround: A directory connecting artists, cultural organizations, and creative businesses across New England. Create a user profile and find organizations to collaborate with. A resource of the New England Foundation for the Arts. Watch an orientation video.
- New England Teaching Artist Collaborative (NETAC): An organization that builds the capacity of teaching artists by fostering equitable practices, offering professional learning programs, and increasing the visibility of teaching artists across the six New England states.
- The Youth Arts Impact Network: connections to other Creative Youth Development practitioners and updated resources and opportunities for teaching artists, young people, and organizations.
- Boston Area Network of Teaching Artists (BANTA): A network dedicated to the well-being of teaching artists in the Boston area, fostering community and support.
- Berkshire Cultural Asset Network (BCAN): A professional learning network for Arts Education and Community Engagement workers to advance arts integration in Berkshire county.
Professional/Career Development
- HireCulture: Mass Cultural Council’s free, searchable database of cultural employment opportunities throughout Massachusetts.
- Assets for Artists: Offers professional development, financial workshops, coaching, residencies, and community-building opportunities, designed by artists for artists.
- Artists Thrive: A resource with tools to help artists better understand, measure, and thrive in their artistic lives.
- The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation: Supports the professional development of teaching artists, including trauma-informed practice training.
- Berkshire Regional Arts Integration Network (BRAINworks): Offers resources for arts and cultural organizations, resources for teachers, and professional development opportunities.
- Health Resources in Action (HRIA): An organization that supports public health, HRIA has supported professional development for teaching artists, mental health trainings for Creative Youth Development practitioners, and the BEST Initiative (Building Exemplary Systems of Training Youth Workers), trainings and professional development for youth workers and their supervisors.
Funding, Opportunities, and Resources
- Mass Cultural Council’s Funding
- Grants for Creative Individuals – unrestricted $5,000 grants to artists (including teaching artists) in all creative disciplines to equitably advance creative expression throughout the Commonwealth.
- Local Cultural Council Program – grants to artists and groups for projects that benefit local communities.
- Creative Experiences – grants to organizations (including schools) for festivals, projects, residencies, and other cultural activities in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Teaching artists can receive support for school and other residencies (but schools/organizations need to apply).
- Artist Opportunities: Weekly round-ups of grants, contests, calls to artists, residencies, and other opportunities for Massachusetts artists, including teaching artists.
- Artists Thrive’s National Resource Hub: A wide-ranging database of nationwide resources for artists.
- Fund for the Arts (FFTA): Supports local arts, artists, and arts organizations by providing resources.
Academics/Curriculum
- Berklee College of Music: Explore roles and careers as a teaching artist.
- New England Conservatory: Offering the Teaching Artistry and Music Education Concentration to NEC undergraduate and graduate students. For students and the public, they offer a Teaching Artistry workshop series that is hosted in person and online throughout the year.
- GIVE Guide – Your Guide to Teaching Artistry in Inclusive Settings: Curriculum, language guides, activity bank created by teaching artists for teaching artists.
We hope teaching artists can utilize these resources to continue their vital work, so that creativity can flourish in our Massachusetts communities.
Related Reading
- Funding for Massachusetts Artists and Culture Bearers
- How to Have a Successful School Residency in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities
- Advice for Emerging Artists
Image: Teen Bridge Artist in Residence (AIR) Fellows with AIR Feda Eid during the Summer, 2023 Intensive at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts. Photo by Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo (2023).
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