When we think of legacy artistry, we're often reminded of the generations and traditions that contribute to an enduring design, style or art-making practice, or perhaps we think of the dedication and refinement that a single artist contributes to a discipline, what they pass down and leave behind historically. How would one teach legacy as a teaching artist? Together with Remi Majekodunmi, Solomon Mason and Shelly Svonavec we'll dive into what this might look like in their Teaching Arts practice with students, how they hope to see their legacy deepen or change, and how their work with students evolves their work as artists.

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Teaching Artist Bios:

The Artist Journey w/Sketchbook was created for students to work towards a life-size self-portrait. The students use their sketchbooks not only to develop a sketchbook practice, but the art activities are used as a way to explore their emotional selves through the seven elements of visual arts; line, shapes, patterns, texture space, color mood etc.

As a Nigerian herself, Remi Majekodunmi - names and ancestor acknowledgement are a fundamental part of her individual and collective identity. Remi brings these key elements into her personal practice and intentionally shares these points of view with her young artists as a way to be in community. As a way to explore who we are, where we come from and to whom we belong.

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Born June 12th 1995, Solomon “Solo” Israel Mason is a culture bearer, performing artist, multi-instrumentalist, stilt walker, educator and New Orleans native. Teaching over a decade of teaching experience specializing in Youth Development, Music Composition & Arrangement, Performing Arts, Art Integrated Workshops and Social-Emotional Learning.

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Growing up on the east side of Cleveland with a challenging upbringing, Shelly Svonavec developed a sense of grit and resilience that helped shape who she is today. While committed to athletics and academics throughout school, she always found herself back to creating art as an expressive outlet.

After receiving her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Art Education & Painting, Shelly pursued her desire for connection by teaching High School Visual Arts & Ceramics in Charlotte, NC. These few years spent in the classroom played a key role in the development of my pedagogy. She left the formal education setting in search of creating art full time and finding more effective ways to connect to the youth.

For the past 7 years, she has worked with Center for Arts Inspired Learning teaching integrated arts programming, training new Teaching Artists, and consulting on new curriculum initiatives. Her work in paint and clay is inspired by the dynamic journeys of those who she meets, the grand power of nature, and my inquisitive nature to experiment with materiality. As she ventures forward, she hopes to scale her art to include the lives of those in her community.

www.svonastudio.com

IG: svonastudio

The goal of the action research process is to encourage teaching artists to consider how they might assess the impact of their work in classrooms through RAISE. Teaching Artist as Researcher presents us with methods and thought processes of creating a more holistic breakdown of how students might be engaged, feel understood, valued and build social awareness in and out of the classrooms. Together with Born Shamir, Melli Hoppe and Jessica Mueller we'll dive into what this might look like in their practice, how they hope to see it change, and how their work with students evolves their work as artists.

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Teaching Artists Bios:

Melli Hoppe is a Nationally Credentialed Teaching Artist with Young Audiences Arts for Learning and a certified Wolf Trap Teaching Artist. She has a B.A. in Dance from Columbia College in Chicago, MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College in Vermont, received a Teaching Artist Certificate from Teachers College at Columbia University and has completed over 100 hours of training in student-empowering, healing-centered, and culturally responsive practices from RAISE through Young Audiences. Melli taught site-specific theater and stage movement at Butler University and taught dance at Indiana University, and in various high schools in Indianapolis. She was the Artistic Director of Susurrus, an Indianapolis based not-for-profit performance group, for twenty years, and has choreographed for dance and theater productions internationally.

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Born Shamir Walters is a multidisciplinary teaching artist residing in Pittsburgh, PA. Found working independently in his own neighborhood-based company, Fundamental C.A.M.P. and/or collaborating in integration of arts with STEAM and literary education with Arts Ed Collaborative via RAISE (Responsive Arts In School Education program),Assemble, Waldorf Schools and Arsenal K-8 school, to name a few. His aesthetic is informed by classical Hip-Hop culture, Bauhaus and Pop Art. In his practice his focus has been on using the 4 pillars of Hip-Hop culture to translate Social Emotional Learning to youth and adults. His inspiration has been from the Afro-futurism movement and its writers. Blending imagery from indigenous people of planet Earth with sci-fi themes, which is his way to celebrate the past, present, and future technological and cultural advancements of marginalized people of the world. “Our art supplies brighten up environments, not only from hues and tints, but from the smiles our neighbors share in the streets which they Live & Love."

IG: FundamentalCamp

www.fundamental123.com

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Jessica Mueller is an interdisciplinary artist and educator from Chicago, Illinois. Her work provides visibility for experiences of motherhood that are less than glamorous, shows the absurdity and value in the domestic mundane within actions of care and service. Jessica investigates intersectionality as she experiences it while tending to her bi-cultural/dual-language/single-parent household. Since 2004 Jessica has been a teaching artist with Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and is a member of the Chicago ACT Collective and MotherArt: Revisited. Her work is exhibited as part of the permanent collections at the School of the Art Institute’s Flaxman Library, Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, Columbia College’s Center for Book and Paper Arts, and the Library of Congress. Recently, she was an artist in residence at WORKROOM and PO Box Collective in Chicago, Nido II; Living in the Play, Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy and Poor Farm Little Wolf, WI.

IG: jessicamuellerart

www.jessicamuellerart@gmail.com

Social Justice as a practice can be defined as the empowerment and mobilization of historically marginalized groups through community support and refinement of critical thinking skills. Creative Expression as a Social Practice could then be seen as tapping into creativity as a powerful tool in sparking conversations, raising awareness, and inspiring communities to move toward social change. Together with Ilasiea Gray, Miguel Grijalva and Wojo Womack, we'll dive into what this looks like in their Teaching Arts practice with students, how they hope to see their social practice changing, and how their work with students evolves their work as artists.

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Teaching Artists Bios:

Ilasiea Gray is a multi-hyphenate social practice artist (actress, educator, writer, director, creator). As an actress, she does a variety of work ranging from stage to screen. She made history in Colorado playing the title role of Sleeping Beauty (Denver Children’s Theatre) and performs in the video game Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, releasing October 2024. As an educator, she runs her own acting programming for kids and teaches in a variety of capacities nationwide for theatres, arts organizations, and schools. She is a True West Award recipient for her impactful work in the arts and arts education, has been featured in publications & panels discussing the intersection of arts, activism, and youth advocacy, and speaks at conferences around the country(including South by Southwest (SXSW) Education Conference), about her internationally published essay on inequity in the arts for kids of color. Ilasiea has an MFA in Social & Environmental Arts Practice, from an inaugural program created/led by Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.

Social Media:

www.ilasiea.com

Instagram: @laegray

Ilasiea L Gray (Facebook)

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Miguel Grijalva is a freelance artist going on 25 years. Miguel holds an associates degree in Illustration and Graphic Design, and a bachelor's degree in Advertising Art and Design. He teaches art, ceramics, and sculpting at Rio Rico High School in Rio Rico Arizona. At the high school he has an art club and throughout the school year and summers, they paint murals in and out of the high school.

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Wojo Womack is an entrepreneur who owns three businesses, but his heart and purpose lie in community support and development. Though he has loved being a sports trainer and coach for the past 20 years, it's his work teaching film and media production to underserved communities for the past 17 years that fulfills his mission of helping people become self actualized. As a Columbia University certified Master Teaching Artist Wojo has been fortunate enough to create curricula for dozens of programs spending a full year in over 40 schools. With such an immense amount of classroom experience in mostly struggling schools Wojo has gained a very unique perspective. This is how he was able to create the Dot Product Approach. A holistic teaching strategy whose philosophy is based in practicality and efficacy.