The Arizona Commission on the Arts is seeking up to 10 professional teaching artists who have a serious, committed interest in working with older adults in community and care settings. These teaching artists will form the participant cohort for the seven-month AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute.

Generously supported by Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, AZ Creative Aging is a three-year initiative of the Arizona Commission on the Arts which aims to embed creative aging knowledge and best practices in the community, build an infrastructure for high-quality arts and aging programs, and enhance quality of life for older Arizonans.

The Teaching Artist Institute is a comprehensive training program that will introduce teaching artists to the variety of settings, programs, and partners that make up the creative aging field, and provide skills-building activities for participants to attain the specialized knowledge needed to work successfully with older adults. Inspired by ArtSage (www.artsagemn.org) and other national models, the Institute has been developed around the philosophies of person-centered care, a process-based approach, and cultural responsiveness.

Teaching artists selected to participate in the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute will:

  • Discover the unique ways that quality, meaningful, participatory arts engagement improves quality of life for adults across the aging spectrum.
  • Explore the unique developmental needs of lifelong learning, legacy-leaving, and meaning-making.
  • Learn tools and techniques to utilize existing teaching skills to create innovative and relevant arts learning opportunities for older adult populations.
  • Understand the aging field with respect to research, myths of aging, levels of care, changes in the brain, physical challenges, and memory decline.
  • Understand the process of initiating partnerships for facilitating work with older adults in a variety of settings, and have an opportunity to connect with potential community, aging service and healthcare partners.
  • Explore cultural responsiveness as it correlates with the creative aging sector and what it means for both the teaching artist and older adults.
  • Complete valuable Critical Response Process training, a method for giving and receiving useful feedback.
  • Establish a peer network of teaching artists working with older adults.

Thanks to the generous support of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, there is no fee to participate in the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute.

Through the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute, participants will learn with master teaching artists, work with a mentor throughout the course of the Institute, and engage in applied learning through guided, on-site teaching opportunities.

Participating teaching artists will

  • attend and actively participate in all in-person learning sessions facilitated by national and local experts;
  • complete observation/volunteer sessions with their mentor to see program examples in action;
  • develop and deliver a series of lessons to put learning into practice in different aging service environments; and
  • participate in an evaluation process, participating in program evaluation surveys sharing final documentation.

In exchange, participating teaching artists will

  • receive the professional development and other services provided through the Teaching Artist Institute free of charge;
  • receive education materials, tools and other support;
  • gain on the ground experience in a supported learning environment;
  • establish a peer network of other teaching artists committed to serving older adults; and
  • make connections with aging service/healthcare organizations and professionals.

The call for applications is open to all teaching artists residing in Arizona and working in any arts discipline, including craft, folk, and traditional art. Prior experience working with older adult populations is not a requirement.

In order to participate in the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute, participants must commit to the full Institute (Training, Mentorship and Applied Learning) as outlined in this call. After you have submitted an application, please be sure to set aside predetermined dates required for participation.

11:59 PM, Thursday, September 14, 2017

The AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute will take place October 2017 through May 2018, with required in-person meeting dates, webinars, mentor meetings, observations, and teaching sessions. For more information, see Call for Teaching Artists: AZ Creative Aging Teaching Arts Institute.Ā 

For any questions regarding the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute or application process, please contact

Liesā€™l Hill
AZ Creative Aging Coordinator
(602) 771-6523
[email protected]

AZCA_TAI

AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute: Call for Teaching Artists

The Call for Teaching Artists provides additional information about the Teaching Artist Institute and detailed instructions for how to apply.

 

TheĀ application period for the AZ Creative Aging Teaching Artist Institute is now closed.

The application deadline was Thursday, September 14, 2017.

Please thoroughly review theĀ grant guidelines above before beginning your application.

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If you have already begun an application, clickĀ below:

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