Making Space for Identity and Belonging
Who are you as a teaching artist?
How do you make space for your students’ complex identities?
Bethlehem the Vocussionist and Emma Terrell:
Identity and Belonging
Arts educators can create spaces for complex identities to flourish - their own and their students’. Here Philadelphia teaching artist, Bethlehem the Vocussionist, explores the ways in which movement and spoken word open up new imaginative spaces in which to “dream beyond.”
In a similar spirit, Emma Terrell, a percussionist, explores how singing and performing the music of her Latina heritage gives her the chance to be artist, teacher, Latina, and female.
Why is it important to listen to students’ unique voices? Hear what arts organizations have to say:
Philadelphia Ballet
The Clay Studio
Libby Mislan, Samira Asma-Sadeque,
and a Student Poet:
The Sounds of Culturally-Responsive Teaching
A teaching artists’ work is sustained by and responds to the world around them— its people, its culture, and its traditions. It is informed by the sights, sounds, and smells from walking around the neighborhood, working in the kitchen, and celebrating with friends, family, and community.
How do you honor these many influences in your work? How do you encourage others to celebrate these influences in an authentic and meaningful way as they explore and create?
In this session, Samira Asma-Sadeque and Libby Mislan share reflections from their experiences working in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York - a neighborhood filled with the sounds of nearly 140 different languages. Their work is part of City Lore’s “Homer 2 Hip Hop” program, a project funded by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Why is it important for teaching artists to share their identities as artists with their students?
Hear what arts organizations have to say:
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
Astral
Looking to dive deeper?
Check out these supporting materials:
Bethlehem’s Recorded Response to Jordan and Emma
“Accents” by Denice Frohman — Live Performance
“Accents” by Denice Frohman — TED-Ed Animated Reading
Interview with Denice Frohman about “Accents” — TED-Ed Interview
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“Chavela” - Chavela Vargas Documentary
“Postscript: Mexico’s Majestic Lesbian Chanteuse, Chavela Vargas” by Benjamin Moser
“Chavela Vargas: Lesbian, Legend, Mythmaker” by Tracy E. Gilchrist
Additional recordings from Chavela and Vicente singing “Volver Volver”:
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Don’t Dictate, Collaborate: Achieving Equity in Arts Education - The Wallace Foundation Research Brief
Wallace Report on Connected Learning - Kylie Peppler, Maggie Dahn, and Mizuko Ito
How Connected Arts Learning Can Expand Our View of the Impacts of Arts Education - Kylie Peppler, Maggie Dahn, and Mizuko Ito
Helping Young People Find Their Power - Jenna Doleh
Gholdy Muhammad
Gholdy Muhammad. (2022). Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Zaretta Hammond
Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.
Steven J. Holochwost
Holochwost, S. J., Wolf, D. P., & Brown, E. D. (2024). Addressing inequity in arts education: the potential of a systems perspective. Arts Education Policy Review, 1-17.