For Immediate Release – Teaching Artist Awards

PITTSBURGH, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — The New Sun Rising, with support from The Heinz Endowments, is pleased to announce this Request for Proposals as part of the Transformative Arts Process (TAP), a Heinz Endowments’ grants program focused on fostering the careers of teaching artists and bringing transformative arts experiences to youth.  TAP’s specific goal is to move towards a more Just Pittsburgh by invigorating the field of teaching artists and arts organizations that have a demonstrated practice of challenging structural inequities, bringing transformative arts centered experience to youth in and from African American/ ‘distressed’ communities.

The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards recognize that quality teaching artists should be recognized for the important work they do in Pittsburgh’s African American and ‘distressed’ communities. Teaching artists play critical roles in the lives of the youth they serve, providing not only artistic skill building, but caring, support and mentorship.  Yet those teaching artists who have chosen this as their life’s work face great challenges in building teaching artist careers.  Most of our teaching artists are underpaid and under recognized; the delivery system for teaching artist instruction is fragmented; and arts instruction is often not assigned a high priority in public or out of school time programs.

The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards have been created to add another validation, strengthened networking and increased visibility for the artists who choose to do this work amazingly well.  It is our hope that these recognition awards can play a part in acknowledging teaching artistry designed help transform lives of youth living in African American and ‘distressed’ neighborhoods, as an important and recognized profession.  The Transformative Teaching Artist Awards program will provide ten teaching artists in the field with a taxable cash award of $5,000.  The awards are recognition awards which may be used in any way the recipient deems fit.

Eligible applicants will have a track record of combining artistic skill and the complementary skills of an educator.  By track record we mean those teaching artists who have worked at least 1 day a week in an African American or ‘distressed’ neighborhood (the list of eligible neighborhoods is listed at the end of the proposal), for a period of at least 9 months each year for the last two years.

The deadline for this application will be August 19th, 2018 by 11:59 pm. Applications can be submitted in writing, video, or audio.

For more information or apply visit https://www.newsunrising.org/project/transformative-teaching-artist-awards/ .

About New Sun Rising:
Since 2005, NSR has empowered more than 400 community leaders, supporting innovative organizations that create economic opportunity, solve social challenges, & strengthen the vibrancy of place. NSR’s vision is to promote equitable development in collaboration with the neighborhood partners we serve.

The New Sun Rising Vibrancy Fund invests in leaders through a series of targeted challenges. Funds are awarded through a number of flexible mechanisms, including: Traditional Grants and awards, Recoverable Grants, Crowdsourcing Matches, and Loans. The Vibrancy Fund provides support for businesses, community projects, and collaborations with innovative solutions to our seven interrelated strategies for developing equitable, vibrant communities.

New Sun Rising’s Vibrancy Strategy includes: Culture, Sustainability, Opportunity, Planning, Connectivity, Resources, and Identity.

About the Heinz Endowments:
The Heinz Endowments is devoted to the mission of helping our region prosper as a vibrant center of creativity, learning, and social, economic and environmental sustainability.  Core to its work is the vision of a just community where all are included and where everyone who calls Southwestern Pennsylvania home has a real and meaningful opportunity to thrive.

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