YALA Announces Applications for Teaching Artist Institute and Residency Program, March 6-7

Young  Audiences  of  Louisiana  (YALA)  will  hold  a Teaching Artist  institute and  residency  program on March 6-7, 2024  from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Bell Artspace Apartments Dance & Music Studio, 2100 Ursuline Ave. 

Open to professional artists  of all teaching experience levels, the workshop will provide strategies to employ the artistic talents of participants in the  instruction of core academic content alongside classroom teachers. 

Artists will use their expertise to engage students in the creative process  and meet objectives in both the art form and the connecting content area. After successfully completing  an  intensive two-day  seminar conducted  by  arts  integration  and  child  development  experts,  each  teaching artist will be placed in a classroom to conduct a five-day residency. 

YALA is cultivating  the  next generation  of  highly-qualified teaching artists  to  support arts integrated education  in  local elementary  schools. Arts  integration  connects  learning  in an art  form  to  learning in other content areas. 

Registration  for  artists  interested  in  participating  is  currently  open through  an  application  process  at  Application for TAI Residency . Generously  funded by a grant  from a local  foundation and Young Audiences National,  the  training institute is  free  for artists, who will  receive a stipend at  the successful conclusion of  their residencies. 

Institute participants will learn: 

Classroom Management 

Child Development 

Diversity and Access 

Connecting Your Art Form to Learning and Life Skills 

Lesson Planning and assessment  

Working  at  YALA  for  many  years,  performance  artist Dana Leon encourages  artists  to  explore teaching. “Experiencing the arts with children is a breath of fresh air. To see their faces light up  when they are able to integrate arts concepts, and knowing they are having fun while they are learning  something new at the same time, is rewarding to me. I feel like I’m enriching the youth and instilling in them a  love  of  art that  they  will  never  forget,”  said  Leon,  who  works  with  pre-school  and elementary school students, as well as adults through Young Audiences of Louisiana’s various programs.  

“Working  as  a  teaching  artist  gives  me  more  experience  as  a  professional  artist.  Also,  it  makes  me a better artist, because it sharpens my skills by forcing me to constantly articulate what I’m doing.” 

YALA was  founded in  1962  to  bring  chamber musicians into local  classrooms. Over  the  past 60 years,  YALA  has  become  the  leading  resource  for  arts education  in  the  state  by  “inspiring, empowering  and  uniting children and communities through education, arts and culture.” YALA’s Teaching Artist Institute  will  provide  innovative  tools,  knowledge, and  experiences  to  address  the  needs  of  our  schools  and  communities.  

To learn more about YALA’s Teaching Artist Institute visit: www.ya4la.org. Questions about the program  and  registration  can  be  directed to Ja'nese Brooks-Galathe, Professional Development Coordinator,  Young  Audiences  of  Louisiana, 504.523.3525 or janese@ya4la.org.