In case you haven’t already heard, there is a groundbreaking research project underway called the Teaching Artist Research Project (TARP). (Yes, that’s correct: TARP! The government clearly saw a good acronym when they created the other TARP, which is not as good a project).
TARP is the first national study to examine the world and work of teaching artists. The goal of TARP is to “deepen our understanding of the lives and work of teaching artists through studies in 12 communities, and it will inform policy decisions designed to make their work sustainable, more effective, and more meaningful.”
We all know that teaching artists are a central part of the overall arts education ecology. But, think about it, how much do we really know about them as part of this ecology? TARP seeks to advance the field through this project.
TARP is being conducted by the major research center NORC at the University of Chicago. Its principal investigator is my friend Nick Rabkin, a founder of the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, a contributor to Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning, and author of Putting the Arts in the Picture: Reframing Education in the 21st Century. He is the former director of the Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College Chicago. TARP is supported by 25 foundations and state and local arts agencies.
If you’re a teaching artist or manage a program that hires teaching artists, TARP wants to hear from you. Click here to learn more, register, and become part of this very exciting and important project.
