Dear Teaching Artists, Supporters, and Arts Education Advocates,

We are saddened to announce that the Teaching Artists Guild (TAG) is entering its final chapter as an organization. The Co-Executive Directors and the Board have made the difficult decision to sunset TAG’s 501(c)(3) due to sustained lack of funding. This decision did not come quickly or lightly. TAG, Teaching Artists Organized (TAO), and the Association of Teaching Artists (ATA) have a long history of supporting the field, staying true to our values and being an organization lead by and for teaching artists. We have accomplished great work over the years and sunsetting does not extinguish that work or the lasting impact it has on the many teaching artist communities across the country. 

A core tenant of TAG is to uplift the professionalism of the field and value the work of teaching artists. Unfortunately, TAG has been in an unsustainable financial situation for several years, heavily relying on volunteer labor to stay afloat. This was never an acceptable model and our decision to sunset is rooted in a deep sense of responsibility to not perpetuate a broken system.

The following are some specific occurrences that contributed to the decision to sunset:

• There were few opportunities in which funders provided general operating support for TAG’s infrastructure—what funding was provided was often for programs, but that does not support the teaching artists who operated those programs and the organization.
• Long-time funders switched priorities in the previous few years and defunded TAG without warning.
• Certain funders said that if TAG had a 501(c)3 there would be more opportunities for support, but those opportunities never came to fruition.
• There is not enough funding opportunities for networks and advocacy work, both of which are critical field-building endeavors.
• Several funders expressed interest over the years in supporting TAG’s work, but never actually came through after years of cultivating those relationships.

These are just a few reasons that the decision to sunset was made. Too many times, the teaching artists who run TAG have forgone paychecks and given substantial time and effort in order to keep the organization running. Like many teaching artists across the country, we have made a little bit go a long way. But this should not be the case. Funders need to step up and support this invaluable work. We need funders who are willing to work with us, especially now as the state of arts education is being threatened.

TAG has attempted, for many years, to disrupt the nonprofit structure and funding model. You have been a part of many of those strategies, reinventions, and advocacy to change and break this system. Thank you for your time, effort, and support in this 25+ year legacy. We know that this is a loss that will be felt in communities throughout the arts education field.

The Transition 

TAG is thankful to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for the funding that makes this sunset possible. The Hewlett Foundation is one of the few funders who has supported TAG over the years in a holistic way. Their dedication to arts education and support of teaching artists is what needs to happen across the funding field.

We have been intentional in developing a process to ensure we honor the work of individuals on the National Advisory Committee (NAC) by providing stipends for transition work. The funding also gave us the time to not only sunset, but to also locate another space for TAG resources and legacy. We will share more updates with this community in the coming weeks and months. It has been a thorough and intentional transition from the beginning, starting in February of 2024. In May 2024, the following committees were created to develop and facilitate an action plan: 1) Documenting TAG’s Legacy and Close Out Statement, 2) Transitioning TAG Tools, and 3) Documenting Teaching Artist Funding Issues and Impact. This close-out statement is one part of our collective work over the past several months.

Acknowledgements 

TAG’s Accomplishments

In this time of closure, it’s important to reflect on the accomplishments that this incredible organization, our people, our work, and our many iterations in service to the field of teaching artistry have made. Some of the major accomplishments include: the development of practical resources like the Pay Rate Calculator to help TAs secure fair compensation and the national Teaching Artist Asset Map to connect practitioners with opportunities and organizations, fostering collaboration; hosting the first federally-funded conference dedicated to teaching artistry, Our Shared Future, bringing together the field to strategize on sustainability and innovation; fostering long-standing relationships with regional networks and national partners to raise the visibility of teaching artists; the creation of the Teaching Artist Manifesto, developed to unify teaching artists and advocate for systemic change in arts education. These are just a few of the countless accomplishments teaching artists in the TAG community have made on the field.

Gratitudes

A huge thanks to everyone who has supported TAG along the way. The field is stronger for your care and advocacy. This includes our incredible “NAC” (National Advisory Committee), our many Board Members at the Association of Teaching Artists and then at TAG, the regional network leaders across the country, and the many other teaching artists who have contributed to this work. 

A special shout out to the founding board members of the ATA in 1998: Dale Davis, Diane Gallo, Chris Holder, Naaz Hosseini, Julie Kabat, alan Lynes, David Marquis, Katy Nyerlin-Colletti, and Almeta Whitis, as well as the founding Executive Committee of Teaching Artists Organized (TAO): Belinda Taylor, Miko Lee, Sabrina Klein, Jess Mele, Lynn Johnson, Mary Sutton, and Dave Maier. Finally, the deepest gratitude for our current and former staff members who have spent many hours of low-paid and unpaid labor to advocate and make the field stronger: Current TAG Executive Director Katie Rainey (2021-present), and former Executive Directors Kerry Warren (2022-2024), Heleya de Barros (2016-2022), Miko Lee (2020-2021), Jean Johnstone (2014-2020), Sabrina Klein (2010-2011), Dale Davis (Association of Teaching Artists founding Executive Director 1998-2016). 

It is important to reiterate the support our biggest funder, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has made over the years. The Hewlett Foundation funded the merger between TAG and ATA in 2020, provided the seed funding for the TAG Asset Map, supported ongoing strategic planning and staff salaries over the years, and has generously funded our sunsetting costs as a 501(c)3. The field needs more funders like the Hewlett Foundation who work with small, grassroots organizations doing this advocacy work.

Additionally, many individual supporters have made significant contributions to TAG, as well as organizations like the Panta Rhea Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Fenwick Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, California Arts Council, and the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation. We extend our deepest gratitude to these and to all the other individual supporters who have raised the visibility of teaching artists by donating to TAG.

Our Hopes for the TA Ecosystem

We wish the funding environment for the arts was different. For organizations like TAG to thrive, more funders must support teaching artistry in a holistic manner. Funding should be available for general operating expenses, such as salaries and benefits, to support both teaching artists and those who help make this work possible. The entire arts ecosystem needs this support—especially now.

Our hope for the teaching artist community, brought together and supported by TAG, is that we continue to advocate for and raise the visibility of artists who teach. Teaching artists need a safe space that not only provides access to financial support, like grants, but also fosters a sense of community. While we wish TAG could continue, the mission to be a safe haven for teaching artists lives on in each of the individuals who have been touched by our work.

The financial climate for organizations supporting teaching artists and the arts remains dire, and this must change if we are to sustain and encourage creativity in our schools and communities. Our current situation is part of a larger pattern in philanthropy and government funding, where the focus has shifted away from sustainable leadership to short-term programs. TAG has experienced this firsthand, which has made it increasingly difficult to fund essential programming. There is a critical need for more grant opportunities for individual teaching artists and funding to directly support the operational costs of both small and large organizations dedicated to this work.

Creative opportunities are constantly shrinking or disappearing altogether, particularly in K-12 schools, especially those in financially struggling neighborhoods. For many students, teaching artists are the only source of art they will ever experience. We must support the arts to foster critical thinking and promote radical liberation.

As we close this chapter of TAG’s journey, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. Though our doors may be closing, our spirit lives on in the countless lives we’ve touched and the seeds of change we’ve planted. You are a part of that legacy. As TAG transitions, we want to celebrate the work of the many teaching artists who contributed to this ever-evolving organization. If you have photos, videos, or stories to share, please send them to info@teachingartists.com. We will collect and display these on teachingartists.com.

Together, let’s continue to fight for a future where everyone has access to the transformative power of the arts, and where those who advocate for and support artists are also supported.

TAG’s Collective Brightest Story: Seven Generations into the Future:

“The world is engaged in collective art making.
People are supporting and honoring one another.
Small communities are engaged in collective art making,
food making,
Nature making.
But not all parts of the collective are the same.
Caretaking happens using many skills.
Relics of the past exist.
Reclaiming what was, what is possible.
Centering the Radical Imagination, Radical Love.”