During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Rachael and Jeff discuss the levers of change which drive the sector of practice in their own contexts. Rachael speaks with teaching artist, actor, and author, Eric Booth about field building, starting initiatives, and the most pressing issues facing the field of community-based arts practice.
In this episode you’ll learn:
The ways in which the teaching artist field is growing and changing;
Promising practices in sustaining socially engaged, community-based, arts education; and
New research and opportunities for the teaching artist field.
Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including:
Renegades podcast episode with Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen
Tricia Tunstall on Arts in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
UNESCO’s International Commission’s Report on the Futures of Education from the perspective of young artists
International Teaching Artists Collaborative (ITAC) & ITAC IMPACT: Climate
ABOUT ERIC BOOTH
In 2015 Eric Booth was given the nation’s highest award in arts education, 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. in 7 years), and author of seven books, the most recent are Playing for Their Lives and Tending the Perennials. He was on the faculty of Juilliard (12 years where he founded their teaching artist and mentoring programs), Tanglewood (5 years), The Kennedy Center (20 years), and Lincoln Center Education (for 41 years, where he co-founded their Teaching Artist Development Labs). He has served 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 worked with many overseas organizations and governments. A frequent keynote speaker, he gave the keynote address to UNESCO's first World Arts Education Conference, he founded the International Teaching Artist Conferences and Collaborative and the largest publications in the music-for-social-change field. Find Eric online at www.ericbooth.net.
This episode of Why Change? A Podcast for the Creative Generation was powered by Creative Generation. It was produced and edited by Daniel Stanley. Artwork by Bridget Woodbury. Music by Distant Cousins.
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Jeff M. Poulin
This is Why Change? The Podcast for Creative Generation. We are your hosts. I'm Jeff.
Karla Estela Rivera
Hola. Hola, soy Karla.
Rachael Jacobs
It's Rachael here.
Ashraf Hasham
What's good, y'all. I'm Ashraf.
Madeleine McGirk
And I'm Madeleine.
Jeff M. Poulin
Why Change? is a podcast that brings listeners around the globe to learn how arts, culture and creativity, especially as applied by young people, can change the world, one community at a time. You're invited each week to learn and laugh while exploring the question. Why change? Alright, let's get started. Welcome to this episode of the Why Change podcast. My name is Jeff M. Poulin. And I am your host, and I'm joined today by my co host, Rachael Jacobs coming to us from Sydney, Australia. Rachael, how are you?
Rachael Jacobs
I'm really well, Jeff, it's really good to hear from you. I'm in gadigal land in the eora nation in what was and always will be Aboriginal land. And it's just really fantastic to catch up with you.
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely. It's lovely to see your face here on camera and hear your voice here on the podcast. I know that it is a spanning of almost a day between us, I'm starting my day, you're ending your day. But I love just receiving those messages that we'll get started in just a moment because you came from a leadership class and you know, really practicing your own artistry to even bookend your day where I just woke up and had coffee. So how are things going on in your worlds with everything that you have going on?
Rachael Jacobs
Pretty good. It's really interesting that you say that, yes, I do actually tend to practice my artistry every day because I am a working artist, very proud to be. And I have to say I am very lucky to be at the moment. And in Australia, COVID hasn't affected us in the way it's affected many corners of the world. So we are still able to be practicing artists in a very, very similar sense to the way that we were pre-COVID. And I think it's really important that we're always mindful that we are a privileged group of artists here and see what we can do to reach out to those around the world who aren't maybe having as glorious a time as we are practicing our artistry. And so I think that's one of the big missions that I'm on is to say, okay, Australia's good fortune is worth absolutely nothing if we can't share that with people around the world. So what is it that we can do to lift others in this time of great need?
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely.I fully hear that. And, you know, it's interesting, when you were just sharing this perspective, it brought me back. I've been listening to a bunch of podcasts lately asI've been doing a lot of driving for work and other things. And I listened to the new podcast from former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen called Renegades. And they were talking about this idea of sort of using their privilege, one as a, you know, musician, very, very popular musician and one as a former president, to sort of elevate things from the needs of communities and average people. And it was really unique perspective that they shared in this one episode I was listening to recently, where they talked about the what they viewed as a responsibility of the younger generation to be pushing sort of the older generations, and that if younger folks weren't innovating and doing things that made their elders a little bit uncomfortable, or maybe questioning that they weren't really doing their job. And I just thought it was such an interesting perspective for two people who have that privilege that you just discussed to say, you just almost issue that challenge and say, Okay, great, push it further, you know, I know I've done some stuff, but like you do it even better, issuing sort of a call to action for the younger generation. And it really just, it struck me particularly in thinking about what's happening here in my world in the US and some of the stuff that's happening in your world over there in Australia, that this idea of sort of redefining the roles and how we push each other towards progress between generations was something I just thought was a great way to end my Sunday. Certainly when I was listening to it.
Rachael Jacobs
Yeah, it makes me really introspective, doesn't it to think about what is the role of what's the role of youth in Why Change and what's I know that Creative Generation, definitely you consider us to be a giant piece of the puzzle. And I really think that their job as agitators is really vital. However, the other side of the coin is that I am from the day when young people can just be young people, you know, when Greta Thunberg is bellowing us that she should be at school and she should be learning, she shouldn't have to be leading the world's climate strikers in this, you know, right radical role. She's absolutely right. You know, our young people should have that space. And we should be getting off our asses without them having to set it on fire. So while absolutely love their role as radical, educate agitators is actually up to older generations to make sure that no young person should ever have to be in that position.
Jeff M. Poulin
You know, you're right, you just expanded my thinking exponentially by saying that I, I feel like we need to schedule a debate, right to talk about this dilemma, right of how do we, uh, particularly me, I feel like I, you know, and I don't want to speak for you as well. But I would put you in this category, at least from my viewpoint, that we sort of sit in this between role, where we are no longer the young people, but we're certainly not the elders of the fields. So how do we strike that balance? How do we hold that tension in a way that's appropriate to allow young people to just be young people and learn and explore and imagine, but then also to allow them to take on the leadership roles when necessary, when they feel so empowered? That's interesting, I'm gonna have to think on that one. A whole lot.
Rachael Jacobs
Because I want some more answers on this as well, you know, I want to know when to hold space. And, and when I'm actually asking them to do too much labor, you know, that's, yeah, that's, that's really important. So without elders, when can they share their wisdom? And when do we need to? When are there times where you need to say, actually, the things that we used to do really aren't working anymore?
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely, you know, starting this podcast conversation off with a bang, big questions to ponder. I love it. This is exactly what I want at 8:45 in the morning, we're recording this. Now that I start off my week, in a really great way, I think, you know, actually one of those elders that, that I always think of in our sector that comes to mind is Eric Booth. And this is a name that has been mentioned a number of times on the podcast, a number of co-hosts know Eric, and work with Eric, and you just had a conversation with Eric. So tell us a little bit about the interview that you did?
Rachael Jacobs
Well, Jeff, when this was sort of proposed, I was so so excited, because it a little bit means that I've come full circle. So I'm going to start out by saying that I know Eric. And I'm also going to start out by saying, as a podcast listener, an avid podcast listener, there is an element of annoyance that you get when the interviewees know each other and have all these in jokes. And it's a back slapping competition and things like that. I was really mindful that I didn't want to go into that this podcast that way. But the invite sort of came full circle. Now, this could come off as a tale of great privilege and things like that. But I'll just couch it by saying a couple of years ago in 2019, I saved up for years and years and years, because I wanted to go to New York and do the Lincoln Center's Leadership Academy and I scrimped and saved and threw everything I had at that, because I thought that would be some once in a lifetime opportunity. Yeah. And guess what, that opportunity is not actually available at the moment. So,so it was really fantastic. And I have to admit, when I found out that Eric Booth, one of the fathers of teaching artistry, one of the forefathers of our field, one of the pioneers of socially connected art and art education, were found out that he was hosting my leadership academy, and they were just going to be 25 of us in the room. And his leadership, I do believe it or happy dance, because I thought, this is me actually getting really, really close to the source in Australia. You know, it's a great global, north, privileged, Western nation. But you are actually a little bit isolated. That all of these, you know, big institutions and big movements seem to happen a fair way away from you. And here was my opportunity to kind of get in on the action, and to ask deep questions to ask hard questions. And so that's where I really learned a lot about what makes Eric Booth tick. And a little bit about, I guess, the genealogy of where I come from as well. What kind of trains of thought led to the kind of work that I do with influences what I do working in communities, working in community art, in arts education, in my role as an academic, whether I'm conscious of it or not, if the work of people like Eric has influenced my work and it was really, really great to see that in action and also to us deep penetrating questions as well.
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely. This is a fantastic interview. I loved listening to it. So why don't we give our listeners a chance to listen and then we'll come back on the other side to discuss.
Rachael Jacobs
Well, good morning and good evening, everyone. It's Rachael Jacobs here coming to you from Gadigal land in the Eora nation, which you know, as Sydney in Australia, and I noticed that I'm on land, that is Aboriginal land it was, is, always will be Aboriginal land. This land was never seated. And I acknowledge the elders past, present and emerging. And I am here interviewing the amazing Eric Booth. Eric, it is so wonderful to have you here. Eric is an actor on and off Broadway. He's a publishing professional, an author of seven books, including “Taming the Perennials”, which is going to come up in our conversation today, “The Art and Spirit of Personal Religion”, which is just a fascinating topic. He's a renowned arts educator and arts education leader, and one of the great pioneers of teaching artistry. It's such a pleasure to have you. So Eric, firstly, where are you? And how are you?
Eric Booth
Oh, thank you. Thank you, Rachael. And thanks for this podcast, Why Change? The world needs that question answered in lots of ways. I am at my home in the Hudson River Valley, I get to live on a nature preserve. And it is the full burst of spring right now. And so the “How am I?”, I like so many have felt flattened by the last pandemic year, like I'm living a two dimensional life that's just about pushing stuff around. And as the sap is rising in the trees outside my window here, and as the daffodils are in full explosion, I start to feel it rising in me too, there's a sense that where I'm at right now is at a sense of fresh hopefulness after the darkest period I've experienced in teaching artistry.
Rachael Jacobs
It's certainly has been a time, Eric, it's been a time all over the world. I'm here in Australia, where we got through relatively unscathed. But and we're now heading into our autumn and winter, which were in the opposite end. And things are starting to darken and cool off and things like that. But it's really wonderful to hear that sense of renewal in your voice. And, you know, see that blossoming and blooming around you. Because what I do know from meeting with you, and learning, I guess at your feet, is that you're an incredibly hopeful person. And you're always looking forward and into the future. Is that something you'd agree with?
Eric Booth
Uh, yeah, I would say it's partly character. And it's partly privilege, in that I've had the good fortune to this doesn't sound like good fortune to never have a job. So I got to find my way into lots of opportunities and experiments. And I'm just addicted to starting new stuff and being around the pioneering edge of things. So I've had had the good fortune of a lot of decades of being around the breaking edge of our field.
Rachael Jacobs
Well, let's talk about that a little bit. So I had the amazing opportunity to meet you. And it was one of those things that yes, was definitely part privilege. But I saved all my money for years and years and years. Because I wanted to come to the Lincoln Center to do their,uh their Leadership Academy and to be in New York for two weeks. It was definitely one of the great turning points in my life. And I have a confession to make that when I found out that you were leading that Leadership Academy, I did the little happy dance because I thought this is really fantastic. I had another confession to make, that over those two weeks when I got to know you. I started saying how does this guy not have a job? And how can I be like that as well. So I want to ask you, you have such a passion for opening new spaces for artists, both experienced and emerging, and encouraging people to flourish and lead and be that pioneer into new spaces. Tell me about your passion for that kind of work.
Eric Booth
Well, I I was lucky to discover it early. I am I you know kind of had the artists track the tunnel track of conservatory training to be a Shakespearean actor and it fed right into what was supposed to be the career that I was wanting, you know, doing Broadway shows doing stuff all the time. And I found I didn't like it very much. It felt,you know, it almost felt masturbatory playing for the art club, you know, pleasing the art club, running by the standards of the arts club, even sometimes the art club at its best. And when I'd had the opportunity for a first chance at teaching artistry, which I didn't know anything about, on the very first day with a group of 10 year olds in Harlem, I got a bigger hit of the power of art than I did playing the same show eight times a week downtown on Broadway. And so I kind of got a hit of how potent the arts are, beyond just the standard art club/arts industries game. And I loved it enough that I want to put it all my time into the good fortune of being at a field that was just starting to discover itself. So that I could like contribute things, I mean, I could actually make a difference, my God, I could like make up something and it helped people. And I could like help start a project that no one had ever tried before. And the point I want to make for your listeners, specially for Creative Generation listeners, that period is not over. In fact, the pandemic has accelerated change, by by kind of wiping out a whole lot of the standard way we thought it was going to be, it is opening up an opportunity for change. And so this notion of just boldly going for it in I mean, you're the classic example of that, Rachael, just going for it. And you mentioned have mentioned this in the past. And it's true for me, too, people think, you know, “Oh, my gosh, he started all those things, how did he do it, we have a really low batting average”. The only reason I got to start a lot of things is because I tried 20 times as many more 19 of every 20 of which failed. And that's the message for Creative Generation, right at this time, is putting stuff out there that you're passionate about, and that you have a good hunch, a good hunch there's, there's need and opportunity for this.
Rachael Jacobs
Okay. And that failure, we talk about failure being really important in the arts and things like that. But I often wonder how much we live it. So I'm an academic, which is a field that, you know, we just talked about your form of, you know, performance, and in Australia, we call it an art way. So, in my world it is sort of an academic way. Academic worlds are predicated on success on you getting that grant on you succeeding on you getting a high now, the publications and blah, blah, blah, that we need to talk about more about those things that don't land those things that result in, you know, what some people might call failure, because it means that the one out of 20 that does succeed, is going to be this massive, you know, success that changes live, because you've been through that journey, because you walked through that fire. Is that something you've experienced?
Eric Booth
Oh, yeah, it's, I mean, I look back. Now I'm officially old. And I look back. And the highlights of the career are really around two things. One are what I call little Golden Ages, when a few colleagues and I were committed to a project that felt so right, and we were the right people. And often they only have a run of like four years or five years. There's like enough resources, and we're like doing some great stuff. And we love each other. Those are the the high memories, that breakthrough projects, of which there's maybe only been I've maybe only had six or seven. But they, they were so meaningful to me as being able to offer something out of my meager bear-forked-animals self into a world that was receptive at a particular time.
Rachael Jacobs
I'm gonna put you on the spot here. Why don't you tell us about some of those projects, the ones that I guess stood out for you as being the ones that made a difference to you personally, or the ones that you saw really brought people together in community?
Eric Booth
Um, sure, of course, I want to talk about the current ones because I'm always leaning forward. But let me do a little history. There was a beautiful time when we got to translate what we call “aesthetic education”, the kind of teaching artists pedagogy we developed at Lincoln Center. I had the opportunity to turn it into a school. Like, what would a whole school of that be? And we had researchers that could research it. And we had a school of teachers that said, “Yeah, let's go for it!”. And so there was like a five year run to explore what, you know, what does deep artistic engagement look like when it's engaged in all the subject matters. And this was before arts integration curriculum was much of a thing. And before we really knew much about this, we were just flying on instinct and excitement. So every day was a discovery and getting to sit beside kindergarten teachers for a day at a time and third grade teachers who would tell me, I don't know anything about managing the classroom, it just worked all the bullshit out of me and got me so much clearer about how to bring that kind of learning into a real world setting. And then it kind of grew in some ways into an institutional thing that became a national project. But it, it kind of lost its, I don't know, it's Mojo at the same time, and so that little Golden Era phased out, but it actually that one had a ripple effect in the world.
Rachael Jacobs
That ripple effect in the world is, I guess, part of what makes it meaningful to you. And that sounds absolutely amazing. Because the learning progression for yourself, I think is so strong. I love that sometimes we don't come to the field as experts or very rarely we come as experts. We come as learners as well, and i think that you've really highlighted that. But let's go back to the ripple effect. Because this podcast is all about social change. We asked that big question of why change. And to go back to something you just said, it does feel like we're at the precipice of history. We're in the middle of a global pandemic, but we're in the middle of other pandemics as well. Black Lives Matters has highlighted the racial pandemic that plagues not just the US, but every corner of the globe. We have a Black Lives Matters movement here with our First Nations people that's highlighted some massive, massive problems in inequities. We're also on the edge of the climate crisis, which I know that you're doing some work on, as well. How is teaching artistry able to make this, “distinctive contribution to the urgent need for change?”
Eric Booth
Thank you for setting me up with that question. Because I think it is the most exciting one of our time, the Why Change question has been accelerated by the pandemic, because even you know, the big fat well funded arts institution industries, they don't know who they are right now, and how they're going to regain their viability.
Rachael Jacobs
Wow.
Eric Booth
I mean, they're questioning my god is just getting butts in seats,” Is that really all we've got?” And so there is a questioning of, you know, what's called the value proposition of why, why do they exist. And here's a little story, because I think we are right on the edge of a major breakthrough, the biggest breakthrough in my lifetime. And the little story is, my wife was invited to give a presentation to the World Bank, about how the arts could contribute to the sustainable development goals of the UN. So she spent a day there and made all kinds of presentations about the arts to different groups, she's a teaching artist. And at the end of that day, one of the director said to her, “You know, I have spent 25 years here, dedicating myself to how to improve all the worst crises around the world. And this is the first time I have ever heard the word arts mentioned. And it is the first time I've ever had the thought that the arts might have something to contribute.” And in the short pandemic period of time since that event, two years ago, there have sprung up this mushrooming of organizations that are connecting the arts to actual real world crises. The one group I've especially working with called the Community Arts Network, their whole identity is arts for dot, dot, dot. What do the arts serve beyond just the people who love the arts? And we're right on the edge of starting to answer that question, and teaching artistry is the workforce that knows how to answer that question. I can't say we're fully well prepared to rush right into offering solutions to climate remediation and to health and wellness. But we are the workforce in the arts that knows how to work directly inside communities in ways that create change. What I've been really struck by, in the early stages of this, is how naive most thinking in the arts is about arts for change, this sort of magical thinking that if you make a beautiful artwork that has a thematic connection to a major Earth crisis, you've had a transformative effect. And people you know, if you fix you've changed behaviors and beliefs. And that kind of magical thinking is what leaves us on the periphery of all the serious players that are really investing themselves in change. It's why we're seen as fluffies that aren't particularly useful. Teaching artists are the ones who know how to get into the, you know, the dirt, of actual changing beliefs and behaviors. It's hard to change beliefs and behaviors. It doesn't happen in magical inspirational moments. It takes time, it takes repetition, it takes investigation, and teaching artists are better prepared than anyone else in our field, to work cross-sector, to create the kinds of interventions that do actually start to make a real contribution towards those Sustainable Development Goals.
Rachael Jacobs
There's so many good points that you made Eric, because firstly, viewing teaching artists and teaching artistry as a workforce that's able to create change, is really a game changer, it moves from the fluff to something of substance, which, which it really is. And you've also highlighted that there are models of working in teaching artistry, that aren't coming in and do a magical show and then leave, it is about sustained engagement in a community. It is about working with that community not imposing your will or your view of how it should be. It really is to be quiet, led by the learners and led by that community. And that work is hard. Yeah, that work is hard.
Eric Booth
Yeah, I would agree with that. And the kind of I think the the touchstone of it, or the Philosopher's Stone of it is the teaching artists credo, that the number one job of a teaching artist is to activate the artistry of others. That's the power that actually creates change. It isn't the artworks we make, it isn't the charm we exude. It is activating this universal birthright power that has led to all human evolution for the last 300,000 years. Teaching artists are the workforce dedicated to that act. And when that power is activated, it can be channeled into any number of different outcomes, one of which is, changing your beliefs and behaviors around climate change, let's say.
Rachael Jacobs
And this is how we address the big questions. Now we've got a lot of teaching artists and emerging artists who are listening at the moment. And they're thinking I am part of this workforce. And I'm hoping that they feel inspired. But let's talk the real talk. What do you think are some threats to them at the moment? And what do you think are the support mechanisms that we need to put in place to overcome this stuff?
Eric Booth
First, let's cop to the fact that our support mechanisms in this field suck. Really, really sucked. They aren't much better. Now. We're well intentioned, we're kind, we’re generous, but we have not created good pathways in, we've not created pathways for moving into greater power. We have not helped our own, at least in the 40 whatever years I've been working on it, and it's, uh,it's inexcusable, it, it requires so much more of an individual than it should. And I'm sorry, and we didn't get the breakthrough to the funding that creates structures. So I'm afraid we're still in the same situation where individuals have to undertake courageous and heroic endeavors to get themselves into the field and they have to innovate and improvise their way to continue in the field, all of that apology done, here's a couple of things I have found. One, two things have worked for me in finding work as a freelance person for 40some years. And these two rules of thumb, I recommend to all young. Number one, work begets work. Most of the project work that develops, comes from project work you have done. So, if you have an interest area, start doing something, draw the people in who care about it, find a target, even if it's your family, friends who runs a business and you, you want to try some kind of professional development to boost creativity in that business. Take whatever you've got, because good work, where you are learning, you're at your own learning edge, that is the thing that creates more work. So put it out there, and by hook or crook, get working in the areas of your particular passion. And the second piece that works with that, is that visibility counts. So make that work visible in whatever ways you can. Social media is one way. But there's a lot of other ways to0. There's physically, I mean, how many times have people given talks to the Rotary Club, the end the local Chamber of Commerce and the local church, where you can actually turn them on to a possibility that matters for them.Joined the local ecological society, because you've got an idea of that can advance them, publish articles, write essays, blogs- visibility counts. So there's two things and just a couple of warnings, don't do it alone. Find colleagues and friends and stay connected to them so you don't start thinking you're all on your own, and that you get burned out, rely on support a small group of colleagues. And second, don't wait around, don't think the work is going to come to you.
Rachael Jacobs
It's so true, that I just have an example of that last year when the pandemic shut down. Most of my projects, most of my projects are projects that in community they are face to face, their hands dirty, and things like that, which is the life that I want to lead. So much of them did not go ahead last year. I wrote to a small organization called The United Nations Educationa, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and said, “Hi, I've got some time on my hands. How can I help?” And they said, “Sure, we've got this report, we need some artworks analyzed, and you sound like the woman for the job.” And my report has just come out in UNESCO analyzing 218 artworks. And it was some of the most beautiful work that I could do from a desk at home. But it really did require, I guess, a bit of bravery and a little bit of initiative and a little bit of willingness to be laughed at, you know, to think I'll be laughed at out the door. But it was one of the things that worked for me. Any, any stories of right place, right time, or you putting yourself in that position?
Eric Booth
Yeah, there's a lot of stories like that one of them connects to a project that just launched that I know, you've heard about the ITAC Impact Climate. ITAC, the International Teaching Artists Conference, was launched in an Oslo bar in 2012, when someone who had some money and some local clout, and I said, “Well, what if we got teaching artists from around the world to come together here?” She said, “Well, I got some extra money. Why don't we just try it?” And the International Teaching Artists Conference was born out of let's just go for it. I mean, let's just say to people, hey, you want to come to this thing? And people from 26 countries showed up. So just putting it out there not knowing, but man if you hit a gusher, it'll carry you a long way. And with the ITAC, now 10 years old, I happened to be consulting with a group that was working on a climate project. And I said, “Gee, I wonder if ITAC could do a climate project that connects to your launch?” Bingo, the largest project ITAC has ever had. So it's a matter of listening, grabbing, and like you just described with yourself, taking initiative, knowing most of the time you're going to fail, but if it's a good enough idea you never know.
Rachael Jacobs
You never know. And by the way, that's really exciting work on the climate crisis front. So, I just can't wait to see how that turns out. Because, you know, that's, that's a conversation that we really need to get right in the middle of just a little reminder as well, to link some bits of the conversation, because we are drawing this conversation to a close is to put yourself out there, but also don't do it alone. Take people with you, can I encourage anyone who has privilege and privilege as I do, to take other people with you that some people might be listening to this, and thinking, I don't feel empowered to put myself out there. For many, many, many structural reasons, I get it, I hear you. And I think that's why it's always important to bring others along with you. Look at what power you have, and how that can be shared. So in the UNESCO project, there was a young Emerging Scholar, who was completely new to the field who came along with me, and she now has a UNESCO report to her name. So there's a lot more that we can do in terms of supporting each other as well, I'm sure Eric, you would agree, because I've seen you support literally thousands of people who don't have as much power as you over the years.
Eric Booth
There was a guy, I just remind me, a guy I heard from yesterday. I met him in a workshop four years ago, he hadn't completed high school, he was full of art ideas. I was on the phone with him a lot, I got him, he was able to get some jobs. And he was just hired as the education director of one of the best youth arts programs in Boston. We do, we need to do this for each other on restrained, there's no limit to how much you just do it all for everyone. I don't care how tired you are. Because we haven't built an infrastructure. People support is our infrastructure. And if your listeners check out ITAC International Teaching Artists Collaborative online, you're going to find a lot of people around the world who are being, who are going to be willing to connect with you and help lift you up and forward. It's so true, lift up and forward. And, and we are the infrastructure so we can do this work. So that's absolutely correct, Eric to finish up our time together. Now we all know that last year, it was dietly soft in many, many ways. And I think all artists all over the world lost something, be it a project, be it funding, be it just a little bit of spirit. But you are talking about starting to rebuild, tell us some things that you're working on at the moment.
Eric Booth
I'll talk you through one project because it's so exciting that all the pieces are finally together. The state of Vermont in the US miraculously passed a law that high school students don't get grades. And in order to graduate from high school in Vermont, you have to demonstrate creative capacity. So we have learned,
Rachael Jacobs
That's it. I'm moving to Vermont, this is game changing!
Eric Booth
So we've got this series of events now, where communities come together, led by their young people to have conversations. These are small, poor towns, rural towns, come together to decide their their vision for social and environmental justice in their town. They together craft their vision for their town, they are guided by a BIPOC muralist to create a mural that captures that, all the murals come together in the state capitol for a day of sharing these visions from around the state. Then they go back to their towns, and the young people facilitate the work that translates the vision held in the mural into action in their town, led by the teenagers of that town. And all, and we're doing the preparation of people that are needed to lead these things all along the way. And then it takes off on its own energy. And I've never seen all the pieces come together quite in this way. And it's going to be annual, it'll happen every year.
Rachael Jacobs
That sounds absolutely amazing. That sounds like everybody's getting involved getting their hands dirty. And it's going to create something beautiful for the community as well. It really is the best of what we do.
Eric Booth
It is. It feels like it, and to be old and to be at the beginning of something that's going to become a statewide tradition. It feels pretty damn great.
Rachael Jacobs
Eric, I've loved talking to you, but you got to drop this old thing. Look here because I've got the vision on the screen. I'm looking at a young, dynamic man, who is still world changing. And leading and things like that. Maybe a field elder, maybe we might accept that if we can use one of those terms, but definitely not old. Eric Booth, thank you so much for joining me on Why Change.
Eric Booth
Thank you, Rachael. Thank you. Why Change?
Jeff M. Poulin
Rachael, that was a fantastic interview with Eric, I love just your enthusiasm, you're clearly so excited to be chatting with someone. Tell us a little bit about your biggest takeaways, what stood out to you in this dialogue? There's just so much information, what are the two things that we should walk away with?
Rachael Jacobs
Oh, thanks for that, Jeff, for the first day, that's really kind, it was super enjoyable as well. The things that I took away from this conversation was how much there is left to do and how much the field has evolved. So some of the challenges that Eric was faced with, when he was first setting up this conversation about teaching artistry. And at the beginning of the interview, I love that he talks about his own personal journey that he was, you know, doing high level Broadway shows and things like that. But, the kind of fulfillment that he was getting through an educative process was something that turned him on in a totally different way. I love how he describes that journey. But, the challenges that he, that he faced, at the time in the past, are quite different to the challenges that we face right now. And so some of those challenges are how do we amplify marginalized and minority voices? How do we ensure that our fellow teaching artists are going to keep having viable work options? How do we encourage tenacity in our field and things like that? So it's not just getting that foot in the door, it's to keep perpetuating successful practice, whatever that means to you in your corner of the globe. So I think, I guess the rate of change that Eric has witnessed is quite phenomenal. And it makes me wonder about what challenges are there for us in the future, in arts, and in arts education that we haven't even anticipated yet? So like most people, I don't think we'd be sitting here in the middle of a global pandemic. But here we are. So what do we need to, I guess, you know, I can't stand these corporate phrases like future proofing. But what can we do to put ourselves in the best position that we can? Because we know that the arts has so much to share with the world? So what can we do to ensure that our practice is robust? And that it is ongoing, and it is inclusive?
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely. You know, it's really interesting, those questions that you pose around the future proofing, not to use the term, but to use the term, of the field are really important. And I think back to about a year ago, probably exactly a year ago, actually, in late April 2020. I was invited, after doing a study on the future to do a bunch of conversations on the future of supporting teaching artists, because what we found in our quick response survey that went out, as the pandemic took hold in the United States, was that teaching artists were largely viewed as the most vulnerable members of the arts education field, because of inconsistent employment, lack of health care benefits in the United States. And the populations and communities in which they're working, were facing the COVID-19 crisis at an exponential rate compared to other other communities. And so it was really interesting, because everything you just described was the microcosm of our weekly conversations for months with this group of leading teaching artists, because we all had that privilege. We all were saying, “Oh, I identify as a teaching artist, but I'm full time employed” or “I identify as a teaching artistut you know, I did that after a successful other career,” or, you know, “I would like to navigate this,but I'm operating in New York City where there is a union for teaching artists in lots of other places, there are not.” And it was so interesting to just watch this conversation evolve, because we were trying to put out a call to action, around COVID-19 response, particularly around funding, but simultaneously, little success stories were popping up in San Diego and Chicago and other places around the country. And then truly, it stopped dead in its tracks because we saw the first civil uprisings responding to police violence against black and brown communities. And we said, you know, we have to be all inclusive, we have to look at the intersectionality, we have to look at how we can sort of elevate all of it. And truly what it did is, I watched it in real time via changing of the guard. Were truly a lot of these folks that were viewed as leaders that came from these positions of privilege, were no longer the most appropriate people to be writing these calls to action. And just to watch something like that happen in this small little microcosm of what was actually happening on a large scale, international viewpoint was just so interesting. And I think that that is sort of the lesson out of this story, as you were saying, of watching the teaching artists field evolve over time across the world, that we should be thinking about, we should be interrogating, we should be navigating as we move towards the future.
Rachael Jacobs
Yeah, absolutely. And I guess to bring it back to Eric, Eric, to me is somebody you're absolutely right, that we questioned, whose voices were being heard and why and who we were elevating and were they best people to have the conversation. Eric, to me, is one of the people who has used their privilege to open up spaces for dialogue and things like that. And I think that Eric very much has a no bullshit approach. He calls out the field for when it missteps, he pushes us to go further. He often identifies gaps and things like that, whether they are, look, the arts was supposed to, you know, improve people's empathy, why do we have such a massive empathy chasm? When it comes to black and brown people and police violence and things like that? I really think that his ability to use that his privilege, to to magnify the conversations and, you know, amplify voices that should be heard, is also really admirable. And, and I think that we need that voice of conscience in our face, the conscience that sits on our shoulder and says, “We can't just sit there and say, right, yay, the arts are great for us.” He does also look at well, where have we failed? And that's a hard conversation.
Jeff M. Poulin
Certainly, and I think he's done a great job, too, of planting those seeds in people to sort of grow. You know, he wrote a book that was called, “Tending the Perennials”. And it's sort of this interesting exploration of his journey, and you can read it, but the idea of perennials being something that are cultivated is interesting to me, because I think one can cultivate in yourself, which certainly he talks about, but it can also be cultivated in other people. And when we talk about that idea of eldership, as we were discussing earlier, it really strikes a chord of,”where are those exemplars of eldership?” And I think Eric has done a great job. And he talks about this a little bit too, of planting those seeds and sort of perpetuating this and one of those seats, I would say, if it's not too cheeky, is you, you know, you've done a lot of the same field building that he has done in Australia. And I know it was just announced that there's a new initiative that you're helping to co lead in Australia and the Pacific to network together teaching artists, can you tell us a little bit about that?
Rachael Jacobs
Yeah, this is so exciting. Jeff, and look you make a really good point. So this wouldn't actually have never happened, I don't think or I would have never been involved,f I hadn't made that trip to New York to find out, I guess about teachin artistry and a big growth that the potential for growth that there is, particularly in my region, region, so let me tell you about APTAN, A-P-T-A-N, the Australia Pacific Teaching Artists Network. So it suits with ITAC, the International Teaching Artists Collaborative, and it is, I guess, our regional chapter. So we're here in the Pacific that includes Australia and New Zealand and Pacific island nations. And there are people actively working here as teaching artists. And some people don't use that term. They might use community artists or educators or things like that. We have a lot of people working in that field. And at the moment, there's lots of professional associations, but there's not really an umbrella organization for teaching artists. And there's nothing that helps people identify as a teaching artist, or have solidarity between each other. It is designed to complement the many excellent professional associations that we do have. I'm a member of pretty much all of them, like Oz dance and Drama Australia and Azman and, and things like that. But it's designed to strengthen the conversation around teaching, honestly. So one of the questions that we ask on our Facebook pages, “Do you need a teaching artist,you know what goes on in your workplace or your community? o you need an artist there?” And we ask people, “Are you a teaching artist? If you're educating and you know, you've got artistry at the heart, then have a read of some of this stuff.” So we're about to have our launch event which is really exciting. Brad Haseman, the renowned drama educator is going to be one of our keynote speakers. We're also going to have personation speakers. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, we are most definitely going to invite some of our teaching artists, friends from the Pacific to come and talk to us. And they are voices that really don't often get heard. They can't afford to go to those big fancy conferences, like the one that we met at Jeff. So it's really about time that we use, that we have simple solidarity in our region. And so I'm really excited about APTAN, I want to encourage everyone to go to our website, check us out, any teaching artists can list themselves on the directory for free, meaning that people can find you and offer you work, and can find you and invite you into the community. If they think your skill set matches up with something that they need. You can, of course, follow us on Facebook, look for the post, read a little bit about teaching, artistry, and see if it applies to you.
Jeff M. Poulin
That's so exciting. I love hearing this newsand these advancements. I've watched similar efforts take place in different parts of the United States and in other parts of the world, particularly watching the growth and the impact of ITAC, the International Teaching Artist Collaborative, which we hear a lot about, from Madeleine, or a lot about from Madeleine. And you know, it's it's lovely to see that because I think networking together people which certainly is an objective of mine and and that of Creative Generation as well, is so important because the types of changes that we often hear about in the Why Change podcast or in a lot of our other work as individuals or as a collective– come from the fact that people come together, that the idea of connectivity is so essential in being the driving force behind whatever the objective may be. And this project is certainly a testament to that.
Rachael Jacobs
It totally is because like everything, we're stronger together, that being a teaching artist, as you know can be a really isolating experience, you might be the only artist working in that context, you might end up, it's often really challenging circumstances. It's also places where you need some debriefing yourself, where you might be working with heavy content and things like that. So the mechanisms that we have to support each other at least comes up in the interview, as as you know, the mechanisms that we have to support each other are kind of weak. So here's just one small thing that we can do to show solidarity between ourselves as artists.
Jeff M. Poulin
I totally agree, and to harken back to your interviewee, Eric Booth, he is one of those great connectors, how he does I don't think I don't think the man sleeps. But I know he has been a great mentor to me both in terms of providing opportunity or connections or contributing in ways that are really beneficial, but also being that true mentor, you know, giving me that that sort of kick in the ass when I need it to get motivated or to do something or to correct when I might have misstepped. And I so appreciate that. And it's certainly something that I would love to channel in my life with folks that I work with or with sectors that i i impact. So I'm glad that you got to have this conversation. And I'm really excited that Eric got to be on the podcast and for all of our listeners to be able to enjoy. So this brings us to a close for today's episode, Rachael, tell me what's next. It'll be a little while before we talk again. So what do you have coming up in your world?
Rachael Jacobs
There is so much going on! Well, firstly, I'm actually going to get to New Zealand myself. So I am definitely not going to rub it in for some of our friends who are not able to travel at the moment, but we have just opened the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble. So I'm actually planning on going to see some of my colleagues in New Zealand and to see some artistry at work, which is really, really exciting. And I think that's going to be, you know, a great reconnection of hearts and minds and things like that. Because we do reach out as we say across the ditch often and we really miss each other. So that's really exciting. More is happening on the podcast front as well. So one of my next podcasts is going to be all about Australian women and in the arts, they will you're doing big and beautiful projects with Aboriginal dance. Amazing work with community singing, and things that really provide, you know, a much needed lift to people's lives at this very, very challenging junction in, in our lives and in any world politics and everything like that. So I really can't wait to have those interviews and share them with you.
Jeff M. Poulin
Well, excellent. I'm very excited to hear them. I myself will not be traveling to New Zealand or even to our neighboring Canada. But I, you know, it's interesting, I used to be the person that traveled all the time and would often be on a plane and bopping around the country around the globe,nd it's fascinating because I think about this last weekend and this coming week. I will be seeing young people dancing on the stage for their first time on a stage in about a year, which will be really, I think, a heartwarming moment. This last weekend, I spent celebrating a birthday at a vineyard, not my birthday, someone else's birthday. But there was live music, which again, just brought me such joy. So I think those, those small arts experiences are really just, it's a nice re-entry into the normal, as we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel with COVID-19, at least in my world. And soon, soon enough, we will be traveling again. But I think for the time being, I'm excited about those, those moments of small artistic connection.
Rachael Jacobs
That's so beautiful,Jeff. If I can just add to that, what has really amazed me, is that I am, I have my own dance company. It's a Bollywood dance company and classes in the school at the moment, all the classes have sold out, which is what's telling me, is that people see the arts as part of their normal. And I didn't really know that before, I didn't really know that people considered me a sort of essential worker, people consider this an important intrinsic part of their lives, and have just returned to it with such zest, and with such love and with such fervor, it really, really means a lot. And I'm really glad that you're able to witness that I know that you're going to cheer really loud when you see those little ones on stage, or the big ones or whoever it is on stage. When you see that moment, I just think that your hearts gonna leap for joy.
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely. And it also lept for joy, and if we can share this on the, the episode show notes, the video that your, your crew produced of the bollywood dance, by the bridge, it was wonderful. It was so great to see that true, you know, connection that people were bringing to their artistic expression, whether they started taking class a few days ago or years ago. So I, yes, I think everyone making art in the ways that they can is, is part of this recovery, recognizing artists as those essential workers as part of our recovery. And certainly as we think about recovery and think about the new normal, if I dare say that, the next chapter, perhaps that we're going into that we ask some of those big questions that you were posing throughout this episode, to think about where we go and how we go there in the best way.
Rachael Jacobs
Absolutely. It's been a tough road but hanging there everyone because, because we’re needed.
Jeff M. Poulin
Absolutely. Well thank you so much, Rachael, that does bring us to a close for today. We will see you all next time. I hope you enjoyed today's episode of Why Change? The Podcast for Creative Generation. If you would like to support this podcast aimed at amplifying the voices of creative changemakers around the world, please consider donating through the link located in the episodes show notes. These show notes contain all sources discussed in the episode. Be sure to follow, like, subscribe, and share the Why Change podcast to make sure you and your networks get episodes delivered directly to you and that you don't miss any stories of creative work happening around the world. If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Also, we'd love to hear from you. You can write to us at info@creative-generation.org we'd love to hear your ideas, the topics you want to learn about and why change matters to you. Our show is produced and edited by Daniel Stanley. Our music is by Distant Cousins. A special thanks to our contributors, co hosts, and the team at Creative Generation for their support.
Episode Summary
By Emma Tilly Lamberti
During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Rachael and Jeff discuss the levers of change which drive the sector of practice in their own contexts. Rachael speaks with teaching artist, actor, and author, Eric Booth about field building, starting initiatives, and the most pressing issues facing the field of community-based arts practice.
Eric Booth is one of the leading voices of arts education and social change, coining the term teaching artist. Throughout his career as a Broadway actor, teacher, and businessman, he discusses the many ways teacher artists can strive, the barriers they may face, and the need for social changes exacerbated by the pandemic. He founded the International Teaching Artist Conferences and Collaborative (ITAC) and the largest publications in the music-for-social-change field, and in this podcast offers tips and tricks to flourish as a teacher artist in today’s society.
Rachael and Jeff discuss the ways to balance the youth-teacher relationship, while still providing independence for youth to strive and lead, but allowing elders to share their lessons and knowledge. They also talk about the ways that teacher artists are able to not only enter the field, but also approach it with the kind of intersectionality that is needed for social change.
In this episode you’ll learn the ways in which the teaching artist field is growing and changing, promising practices in sustaining socially engaged, community-based, arts education, and new research and opportunities for the teaching artist field.