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Arts Education as a Career: Meet Emerging Teaching Artist Asiko-oluwa Aderin

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When art students are considering career paths, becoming a teaching artist may not come to mind. But for one Norfolk State student, that’s now a viable career option, thanks to Arts for Learning’s new Emerging Teaching Artist program.

Asiko-oluwa Aderin is a junior who’s majoring in fine arts with a concentration in graphic design. She’s a visual artist who works in digital and acrylic mediums, using geometric, abstract motifs that explore themes of Black excellence and empowerment.

Last summer, Asiko guided children at A4L’s STEAM camp at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. She was then invited to join A4L’s new Emerging Teaching Artist program, helping children create nature-inspired picture frames in special workshops at Norfolk Botanical Garden while working with an experienced mentor, teaching artist Cindy Aitken. That’s the whole idea of the program—pairing up college students with professional artists and A4L staff who can guide them on essential elements of being a teaching artist, from developing professional programming to reading a business contract.

A4L Chief Operations Officer Anna Green, along with other members of the Education and Program team, designed the program for college students with less than one or two years of teaching experience. Although Asiko is a visual artist, students working in all art forms are welcome to apply for the program.

“Through the program they’ll receive professional development that will contribute to their working knowledge of classroom management, program development with curriculum preparation, and arts administration practices,” Anna says. “Our goal in working with these emerging artists is to cultivate them on to our teaching artist roster with one to two signature programs, or to help them advance throughout their profession.”

Asiko also taught high school students graphic design and comic book making in a ten-week residency for Norfolk nonprofit Next Step to Success. Through that experience, she discovered the joy of making a positive impact. On the last day of the residency, she asked students to tell her what they were taking away from the experience.

“One student in particular—who had presented a few challenges in terms of staying engaged and staying interested—he actually said that through the course of the program he had a love for art sparked,” Asiko says. “I think that was so cool, because as I went through the residency, one of my goals became to facilitate creativity within each individual child, however that may look like. To go from a kid who was like, ‘No, I’m not interested in art’ to ‘Okay, maybe this is something I can explore in the future’—it was really nice to be able to spark that in somebody.”

Drew Lusher, A4L’s Artist and Programming Manager, says Asiko came to Arts for Learning with some key attributes of effective teaching, such as a calm and reassuring presence and the ability to engage authentically with students. He’s seen strong growth in her in the months she’s spent in the Emerging Artist program.

“Once we worked with Asiko to unpack the content of her art form and align it with the interests and needs of her students, she grew into an amazing teacher,” Drew says. “I enjoyed the opportunity to observe her in the last week of the Graphic Novels program. The impact of her teaching on the students and the classroom environment was palpable.”

As for Asiko, she says arts education is an avenue she may want to pursue professionally, thanks to her experience in the Emerging Artist program. “I’ve been reaffirmed in my ability to teach and work with different age groups.” And at age 21, she may have one advantage over much older teachers. “While maintaining a professional demeanor and authority, I’m able to really connect with the students in a way that doesn’t feel intimidating and that they’ll still listen and have fun.”

Asiko has an exciting challenge ahead of her this spring when she moves on to the next phase of the program—she’s been selected to serve as the teaching artist in an after-school residency at Portsmouth’s Westhaven Elementary School, one of three schools participating in the first phase of the IDEAL (Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages) program. During the course of the ten-week residency, fifth graders will create mixed media works of art as they explore various aspects of self-identity through dance, written and spoken poetry, and visual art. Students from schools in Norfolk and Virginia Beach are also participating and will have opportunities to collaborate with one another.

“A lot of the residency is based off of trying to help these students figure out their own identities and where they fit into their communities,” Asiko says. “That conceptually is so in line with the work that I’m trying to do artistically that’s it’s going to be really neat to explore these concepts.”

We’re thankful for the sponsorship of #BankofAmerica that helped underwrite the launch of the Emerging Artist Teaching program. Their support is helping create new opportunities in the workforce for artists.

Students or colleges interested in participating in the program may contact Molly Stanley, Learning and Community Engagement Manager, at learning@Arts4LearningVA.org.

A Spectacular Student Musical Showcase

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“I was floored. I was so proud of him.”
Liretta Krayse, grandmother of Elijah Pretlow

Just about anyone would be floored watching their shy grandson stand up in front of an audience and sing so beautifully. But there’s more to the story than that.

Liretta Krayse and her grandson Elijah Pretlow

Elijah, who lives with his grandmother in Norfolk, is on the autism spectrum and suffers from Crohn’s disease. He’s largely homebound, and Liretta says they’ve struggled to find activities to keep him entertained. She says Elijah, who’s in sixth grade, loved the music classes, which ran this fall at the Portsmouth YMCA. Families of Autistic Children in Tidewater (FACT) has partnered with Arts for Learning’s professional teaching artists for the three-year Arts Adventures residency, funded by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

Teaching artist Cindy Aitken

Arts for Learning’s Cindy Aitken led the classes. She’s worked as a teacher for decades using drama, music, and movement to engage students and was honored as A4L’s Teaching Artist of the Year in 2011. This was the first time she worked exclusively with students with autism, and she called their growth during the residency “fantastic.”

“Most students didn’t even want to sing at first. They didn’t recognize that voice is an instrument, or that clapping their hands, tapping their hands on their legs, all are instruments. We did use actual instruments as well, but I taught them that they’re able to create their own music at any time of the day and in any place, really. By the end, we had a soloist, we had all the students singing, we had all the students participating with tambourines. It was just really exciting to see the growth.”

From the early sessions to the time Elijah became that soloist was a gradual process. Like most of the students in the program, he was quite shy initially and didn’t talk much. But one day, Cindy mentioned what a smooth voice he had when he spoke and said she’d love to hear him sing.

“And he said, ‘Oh no, no. I don’t sing.’  And his grandmother said, ‘Well, you sing around the house,’ and he said, ‘I don’t sing around other people.’

Cindy had a clever response that made sense to Elijah.

“‘I said, that’s okay. I’m not really a person. I’m just a teacher, that doesn’t really count, right?’ And he goes, ‘Well, that’s kind of true.’ And I said, ‘I’m kind of like your grandmother.’ ‘Well, that’s kind of true.’ ‘And I said, repeat a line for me.’ So I sang something like, ‘hey, hey, how are you?’ Something not intimidating. And he turned around and sang, ‘Hey, hey, how are you?’ And I said, ‘Oh my golly, you really have a voice.’”

At that point, Cindy told Elijah she’d like to work with him on his voice whenever he felt comfortable. Sometimes he’d want to, and other times he wouldn’t. “I just didn’t ever push. It was completely up to him,” Cindy says.

Around the halfway point of the residency, when Cindy walked into the gym where classes were held, Elijah jumped up and sang, “Hi, Miss Cindy!”

“There was something very opera-like the way he sung it. And I said, ‘Oh my golly, Elijah, that was fantastic. You have such an opera voice—I can’t believe it.’ And he started laughing and smiling, and the way he did it, it sounded like Ave Maria, like that kind of smooth flow to it.”

From there, Cindy gave Elijah an arrangement of Ave Maria to practice at home. She became concerned when he missed class for several weeks and discovered his family was having transportation issues. She picked up Elijah and his grandmother to take them to class, and while riding in the car, he was “singing up a storm.”

“That was the catalyst that helped him feel comfortable singing in front of his peers. And then once he practiced singing in front of his peers, he felt comfortable singing in front of others.”

The evening of the showcase, his grandmother wasn’t sure he’d go through with it.

“When the program began, he was like, ‘No way. I’m not getting out there,’” Liretta says. “And then, bam, he’s singing! It was so loud and clear, and he sang some of the other songs, too. I was just so proud of him.”

Elijah Pretlow wasn’t the only student who made his family members proud that evening. In fact, there was another Elijah who participated in the residency too and made his family proud at the showcase event, as did all the other students who “performed and informed” what they had learned over the course of the twelve weeks.

“That showcase was completely written and performed by them… it was all student driven, which I really loved,” Cindy says. “It was wonderful!”

The Arts Adventure residency is completely free for participating students. Scheduled for the fall of 2023, the third year of the Arts Adventures residency will focus on visual art. It will again be open to middle and high school students with autism, as they explore different types of visual art, practice new life skills, and learn with their peers in a supportive environment. We look forward to another wonderful year in our partnership with FACT!

Grant Awarded to Fund Free Arts for Learning Performances Celebrating African American Art and Culture

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Thanks to a significant grant from the Virginia African American Cultural Center Inc. (VAACC), Arts for Learning (A4L) will present dozens of free performances and programs in Hampton Roads that highlight African American art and culture.

Using funds from a Virginia Tourism Corporation grant, VAACC approved a subgrant of $75,000 to partner with A4L starting this year and running through 2024. Under the partnership, the professional artists on A4L’s roster will present up to 50 performances and workshops that feature African American art and culture. The funding allows A4L to pay its artists professional fees for their work while giving children, teens, and families the opportunity to attend performances or workshops at no charge. Programs will be presented at various sites throughout south Hampton Roads and the Peninsula.

Arts for Learning’s CEO Christine Everly gladly accepted the first installment of the grant funds from Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, VAACC’s founder and chairman of the board of directors. Dr. Ross-Hammond is past president and director emeritus of Arts for Learning’s board of directors. (Dr. Ross-Hammond is was also elected to the Virginia Beach City Council, where she served from 2013 to 2017 and was installed on January 3. Congratulations!)

“This opportunity takes our partnership with VAACC to a whole new level,” Everly said. “We’re excited to be providing so many public performances for VAACC throughout Coastal Virginia.”

Arts for Learning’s performances are highly interactive presentations for students of all ages. Using their art forms as teaching tools, artists provide engaging content in a wide variety of art forms including music, dance, theater, literary, and visual arts. Arts for Learning’s hands-on workshops give participants the chance to work closely with a professional artist in a given art form.

Arts for Learning has already scheduled a number of performances with many more to come! Check out our Facebook events page for details and mark your calendar so you don’t miss these highly interactive presentations that will engage and inspire children, teens, and families:  https://www.facebook.com/arts4learningVA/events

A conceptual rendering of the planned Virginia African American Cultural Center.

VAACC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a center where local residents and visitors can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience in Virginia. It will highlight the contributions and achievements of African Americans to the region.

Creative Music Expression

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Arts Adventures: Music Expression and Exploration has kicked off in Portsmouth in the second year of a three-year partnership with Families of Autistic Children in Tidewater (FACT). The twice-weekly residency is designed for middle and high school students with autism to explore music, practice new skills, and learn with their peers in a supportive environment.

Teaching artist Cindy Aitken is leading the residency, guiding students in different activities such as playing circle games with rhythmic sticks.

Funding for Arts Adventures comes from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. The focus of the first year was dance and creative movement, with the residency held in Virginia Beach. The featured art form in the third year will be visual art, with plans for it to be held in Norfolk. There’s no charge for students to participate.

“We’re delighted to partner with FACT because the population they serve overlaps with a group of students that we prioritize with our programming,” says Chris Everly, CEO of Arts for Learning. As part of our mission to inspire and engage, Arts for Learning works to reach underserved students, including those with intellectual or physical disabilities.

The Music Expression residency concludes in mid-December with a special “perform and inform” event for family and friends.

Support our efforts by donating here—because all students deserve access to quality arts education!

A Summer to Remember

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At the start of this Labor Day weekend, we celebrate with a look back at a summer filled with all things art. Our artists and staff members were busier than ever, working to inspire and engage students in and through the arts.

A Splash of the Arts

Over the course of four Saturdays in July, 40 Arts for Learning artists performed at the Hampton History Museum and Mill Point Park. Hampton City Schools sponsored the series of free performances and activities for families and students. Given the enthusiastic response from attendees, we hope this will become a summer tradition in Hampton!

Frames and Games Summer Workshops

We partnered with Norfolk Botanical Garden for a series of workshops for kids, with our artists helping children create take-home frames using items from nature. We have two more workshops still to come on Saturday, September 10, which are free with the price of admission to NBG.  https://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/learn/children-family-programs/

These summer workshops are part of our new Emerging Artists program for student artists who want to explore becoming a teaching artist as a career. Thanks to Bank of America for underwriting this new program. Read more here: https://bit.ly/A4Lemergingartists.

Summer Arts Camps

With hosting by the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, our teaching artists mentored students through four weeks of summer camps: musical theater, visual arts, and STEAM. Kids got the chance to create while having tons of fun.

Next Step to Success

In a new partnership, we joined with Next Step to Success to bring our Strings Impact program to teens. Teaching artist Tina Culver helped students learn the basics of how to play the violin. We also presented visual art instruction to students. Next Step to Success is a nonprofit in Norfolk geared toward underserved youth ages 13-16, providing after-school and summer enrichment to help participants develop the tools to succeed in life. 

Alternatives Inc.

We continued our longstanding partnership with Alternatives Inc. in July, providing a series of arts-rich residencies, including this one where students worked on our Arts + Learning Snacks’ mini-comic. Alternatives Inc. is a youth development nonprofit on the Peninsula whose vision is “healthy, principled, and creative young people valued as members of the community.”

Library Performances

Our artists performed at a number of libraries around Hampton Roads this summer, offering quality arts enrichment to children and families when school was out. Thanks to local arts commissions for underwriting performances in Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Williamsburg, and to the Portsmouth Service League for sponsoring two performances in Portsmouth.

Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation

In another new summer partnership, our artists presented 16 performances and 24 workshops to children in programs at the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Department.

Common Casting Call

Arts for Learning joined forces with The Zeiders American Dream Theater, Virginia Musical Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Hampton Roads, City of Virginia Beach, and Virginia Public Arts for a common casting call. Dozens of aspiring actors, singers, and other artists came out for this audition opportunity held the last week of August.

We thank all of our community partners who helped make this a summer to remember!

We also thank the individuals who support our mission as we try to reach more students through the arts while paying our artists fair professional wages. Join with us as we work toward equitable access to the arts by making a tax-deductible donation.

And make sure you don’t miss any news by signing up for our monthly newsletter: https://arts4learningva.org/

Happy Labor Day weekend to all!