Episode 63, ACT 1: Looking Back to Look Forward - Collective Field Building

Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie

We’ve got another great episode for you, TA PODience! We’re back with Act 1 of a fascinating three-act series titled “Looking Back to Look Forward.” Episode 63, Act 1: “Collective Field Building,” features an exciting panel of inspiring multi-hyphenate artists and arts administrators who were instrumental in the formation of what would eventually become the Teaching Artists Guild (TAG). This episode is a fascinating reunion of sorts that is made up of Jean Johnstone, Kai Fierle-Hedrick, Lynn Johnson, Miko Lee, Jessica Mele, Eric Booth and of course Courtney J. Boddie. In Act 1, we learn about the “who” and “how” this confluence of creative minds intersected to found Teaching Artists Organized (TAO), and how that turned into Teaching Artists Guild. We also learn about the creation of two different tools developed in part by this group, one of which is the Teaching Artist Manifesto and how to create such a hold statement representative of every facet of teaching artistry as a field. The other is a larger, deeper conversation piece is the aspirational thinking behind the development of the teaching artist pay rate calculator, which can be used, in part, as a negotiating and advocacy tool, and a means to devising better hiring practices and roads to more equitable compensation for the teaching artist community as a whole. And all of this is discussed in the first half of this episode. So what else does this fascinating panel discuss? You’ll have to listen to find out!