Teaching Artistry for Social Impact

In 2015 Eric Booth was given the highest award in arts education in the U.S., and was named one of the 25 most influential people in the arts in the U.S. He began as a Broadway actor, and became a businessman (his company became the largest of its kind in the U.S.). As an author, he has published seven books, and over 125 articles; and he founded the Teaching Artist Journal and The Ensemble (for the global music for social change movement.) Often called “the father of the teaching artist profession,” he has been on the faculty of Juilliard (12 years), Tanglewood (5 years), The Kennedy Center (20 years), and Lincoln Center Education (for 41 years). He serves as a consultant for many arts organizations (including seven of the ten largest U.S. orchestras), cities, states and businesses around the U.S., and in 11 other countries. A frequent keynote speaker, he gave the keynote to UNESCO’s first World Arts Education Conference. He co-founded the International Teaching Artist Collaborative, the world’s first global network, and its Climate Collective of teaching artists committed climate crisis response. Website: ericbooth.net

Savoor is the instigator of A River of Light, a movement committed to bringing art to the community through participatory art events, lantern parades, and light installations. She is also the co-founder of Teaching Artists Connect, an organization providing creative and inspiring professional development workshops for teaching artists and educators. You can learn more about Gowri's work at www.gowrisavoor.com. For more information about Teaching Artists Connect, visit https://www.tac-nc.org/.

Barbara Schaffer Bacon co-directs Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that inspires, informs, promotes, and connects artists, arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change. Additionally, she contributes to Local Arts Advancement work at Americans for the Arts. With expertise in program design and evaluation, Barbara serves as an adviser for state and national arts agencies and private foundations. Barbara previously served as executive director of the Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts. She is president of the Arts Extension Institute, Inc. and a board member for WomenArts. Barbara served for 14 years on the Belchertown, MA School Committee. In 2018, Barbara received the Robert E. Gard Foundation Leadership Award. She currently serves as a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Animating Democracy publication links: Continuum of Impact: A Guide to Defining Social and Civic Outcome and Indicators; Aesthetic Perspectives: Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change; Arts and Civic Engagement Tool Kit: Planning Tools and Resources for Animating Democracy in Your Community; Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy; Case Studies from Animating Democracy; The Artistic Imagination as a Force for Civic Dialogue; Civic Dialogue.

Arlene Goldbard is a writer, speaker, consultant, visual artist, and cultural activist whose focus is the intersection of culture, politics and spirituality. Her blog and writings may be downloaded from www.arlenegoldbard.com. She lives in Lamy, NM, with her husband, the sculptor Rick

Yoshimoto. Her two most recent books on art’s public purpose—The Wave and The

Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future were published in spring 2013. Prior books include New

Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development, Community,

Culture and Globalization, an international anthology published by the Rockefeller

Foundation, Crossroads:

Reflections on the Politics of Culture, and Clarity, a novel. Her essays have been widely published. She has

addressed many academic and community audiences in the U.S. and abroad on

topics ranging from the ethics of community arts practice to the democratic

cultural policy. She has advised hundreds of community-based organizations,

independent media groups, higher education institutions, and public and private

funders and policymakers. Until 2019, she served as Chief Policy Wonk of the US

Department of Arts and Culture and President of the Board of Directors of The

Shalom Center. Her forthcoming book, In The Camp of Angels of

Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated? will be published by NYU Press/New Village in January,