Teaching Artists Residencies During Covid

Possible and yes, happening!

In December 2020 Martha Piscuskas, director of Arts Education at the Maine Arts Commission (MAC), moderated a discussion with teaching artists and a middle schooler called School Arts Residencies During COVID? Yes We Can! Included in the discussion were teaching artists: Bridget Matros, Alicia Phelps, Tim Christensen, and Dana Lagawiec with student Theo Forcier, Mt. Ararat Middle School. They discussed keys to success for remote school artist residencies and what they’re doing during the pandemic to further connections and learning opportunities for Maine learners.

The webinar was recorded and archived on YouTube and can be viewed below. The video opens with Martha sharing a land acknowledgment. Bridget Matros (starts at 4:30) is the Kids & Family Outreach Manager at Waterfall Arts and she is in the middle of a residency in Brunswick provided by the well established Arts Are Elementary program. She shares the set up in how she is teaching multiple learners in more than one space at one time. Alicia Phelps (starts at 12:00) teaches piano and voice and is Director of Community Partnerships and Special Programs at the community music center in Yarmouth, 317 Main. She is a recipient of a MAC grant. Tim is a ceramic artist (starts at 22:00) and became a Teaching Artist Leader with MAC’s Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) in Phase 6, 2016-17. Dana (starts at 31:15) does creative theater and became a Teaching Artist Leader with MALI Phase 7, 2017-18. The session finishes with circus artist MALI Phase 6, 2016-17 MALI Teaching Artist Brigid Rankowski monitoring questions. During the summer of 2020 MALI transformed into Maine Arts Education Partners in Leadership (MAEPL). Tim, Dana, Bridget, and Brigid are on the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist Roster.

RESOURCES FROM THE WEBINAR

• Handout: Tips for Remote Residencies compiled by Bridget Matros, attached and here.
• Land Acknowledgement: USDAC, the United States Department of Arts and Culture (no connection to the US government), has a great guide  https://usdac.us/nativeland.
• 317 Main Soundcloud –https://soundcloud.com/user-83776051-760585697.
• Wizard of Oz Promo for the remote school play at Bowdoinham Community School:  https://youtu.be/fTGEpcjY1c8.
• Tim Christensen website https://www.timchristensenporcelain.com/
•  Arts Are Elementary website https://www.artsareelementary.org/
• Compiled Resource List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oh9o22SOECy-1Y1PV2XHU_McFK_6rcD2h_GSeIHrpI4/edit#gid=0

MAC has the following education specific grants available with a deadline of April 1, 2021. Learn more by clicking on the grant title. Arts Learning, Creative Aging, Dance Education. If you have any questions please contact Martha at Martha.Piscuskas@maine.gov.

EXPLORE

Art Teacher and Teaching Artist collaborate

Acton Elementary School students in the EXPLORE: Visual Art program worked with Maine Teaching Artist Ann Thompson to create woven wheels, kinesthetic sculptures using bicycle wheels and nylon climbing rope. Ann collaborated with Art Teacher Cami Davis to create and install the pieces at Kelly Orchards in Acton during Applecycle, a bicycle tour of orchards in southern Maine on Saturday, October 14. The sculptures will take permanent residence on the school grounds along with six other pieces that will hang indoors.

Cami said: “Students loved working collaboratively on the three dimensional pieces and learning about the donated and recycled materials used to create the sculptures.”

Applecycle is a fund raiser for the Community Bicycle Center
after school youth development program.

And, Teaching Artist Ann Thompson, who is on the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist roster said: “The CBC is one of my favorite collaborators and a vitally important program for our community!”