On Thursday, May 9, the upper elementary students participating in the second year of our IDEAL (Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages) after-school residency will gather at the Chrysler Museum of Art, sharing their artwork with family and friends in a collaborative exhibit. Participating students came from three elementary schools in three school divisions: Douglass Park in Portsmouth, Point O’View in Virginia Beach, and Southside STEM Academy in Norfolk.
Of the seven teaching artists who have guided students through this residency, there’s one who has learned a great deal herself, gaining valuable experience working with children, shortly after graduating from Norfolk State University.
Brandy Lee started as an Emerging Teaching Artist in the fall, learning various aspects about a career in arts education. Through a partnership with area colleges, Arts for Learning staff members and artists on our roster mentor student artists on classroom management, program development with curriculum preparation, and arts administration practices.
Simone Couther was also named an Emerging Teaching Artist last fall and continues her journey through the program.
Brandy, who lives in Virginia Beach, is a mixed media artist. As part of her Fine Arts major, she was required to throw her own art show, along with other NSU seniors. She graduated in December.
As an Emerging Teaching Artist, Brandy credits Aisha Noel, Arts for Learning’s Programs and Community Engagement Manager, for “showing her the ropes.”
“I was very new. I knew that I wanted to teach kids art, and Aisha was there to show me expectations of what I needed to do.”
The Emerging Teaching Artist program also benefits Arts for Learning. “It’s a great avenue for helping college students explore post-graduation careers in a supportive and artistic setting,” Aisha says. “I think it’s mutually beneficial—we help the students navigate that scary period between college and the real world, and the students help our organization remain youthful and relevant.”
In February, Brandy began working with students participating in IDEAL at Douglass Park Elementary. Along with teaching artist Tabetha McNeal, Brandy guided students as they explored the question of identity through various forms of visual art, music, and poetry.
“One thing that was very obvious to me as an Emerging Teaching Artist was that I can’t hold students to the same expectation as those in college or high school,” Brandy says. “They’re just learning how to do these things so you have to learn patience. You have to teach them in the very beginning about techniques and you have to think about, is this student actually interested in art, and if so, how am I going to teach them as they begin their adventure as an artist?”
Brandy calls the IDEAL residency “significant” to children who come from many different backgrounds. “It helps them push the boundaries of what they can really do. In IDEAL, we’re teaching kids identity through pattern, so they can establish their own identity, they can recognize their own identity. I feel that’s pivotal to them, and I’m grateful to be there and help them do that.”
And we’re grateful to Brandy, Tabetha, and the other IDEAL residency teaching artists: Asiko-oluwa Aderin, Jackie Adonis, Cindy Aitken, Jennifer Graham, and Dai Poole, plus Gary “JuJu” Garlic, who taught the music portion of the program for all three schools. Thank you also to the residency stewards from each school.
From now through June 9, you can view the collaborative art exhibit in the Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler Museum. Art work created by the students who participated in IDEAL is professionally displayed and open to the public. Click here for more details.
The first student to complete our Emerging Teaching Artist program and join our roster of teaching artists was Asiko-oluwa Aderin. Asiko graduated from Norfolk State University on May 4 with a major in Fine Arts and a concentration in Graphic Design. We’re so proud of Asiko, and we wish her all the best as she pursues her artistic career.
At the conclusion of the Community Creators in STEAM residency in Newport News, we talked with students about their experiences. Words that came up repeatedly were “teamwork,” “friends,” “fun,” and “help.”
“The fifth-grade students at McIntosh Elementary School along with residency steward and teaching artists have spent the last nine weeks using the artistic and engineering design process to address a social issue in their community.
It was also important to the students that art was displayed around the house to give a sense of comfort and ownership. Throughout this project the students made intentional design choices from the color of the walls to the design layout. They wanted those facing this insecurity to feel welcomed.
As part of an innovative after-school residency, 5th graders in Newport News have unveiled 3D artistic creations that are the result of weeks of brainstorming, teamwork, and hands-on design. Four teams of students at George J. McIntosh Elementary School created prototypes that address social issues, presenting their models to educators, community leaders, Arts for Learning staff and board members, and their peers in the residency.
Led by A4L teaching artist 
