Arts to Grow

“What is a teaching artist?  What’s the difference between a teaching artist and a regular teacher?”  The response to these questions are not easy to answer. There are many different views on who a teaching artist is, and what specifically differentiates teaching artists from certified teachers. Our intern, Dina Doyle, set out on a mission by interviewing TA’s Miguel Cossio, Patricia Runcie, & Gardiner Comfort - all 3 of whom are TA’s for Arts to Grow - to find answers to seemingly simple questions, and got many differing responses.  We will have a series of upcoming blog posts to help answer many frequently asked questions about life as a teaching artist.

MIGUEL COSSIO - Mr. Cossio is a TA in Visual Arts who has worked at the Riverdale Neighborhood House in the Bronx.

PATRICIA RUNCIE - Ms. Runcie is a TA in Theater Arts whose workplaces include IS 171 in Brooklyn and Elysian Charter School in Hoboken.

GARDINER COMFORT - Mr. Comfort is a TA in Theater Arts who has worked at PS 7 in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.

photo credits Sy Abudu and Melissa Lonardo