teaching artists Archives - Arts for Learning Virginia

A Journey of Presence, Creativity, and Heart-Centered Teaching

April 2, 2026 By Anna Green

Celebrating Amelia Zontini Moran

Arts for Learning Virginia proudly celebrates one of our longtime Teaching Artists whose work continues to illuminate learning spaces across our region and beyond. Amelia Zontini Moran—Key Costumer in the motion picture industry, Mental Health First Responder, and beloved Teaching Artist—has officially been named a Young Audiences National Credentialed Teaching Artist, a distinction recognizing exceptional artistry, instructional excellence, and dedication to young people.

Amelia has been part of the Arts for Learning Virginia roster since 2003/04. More than twenty years later, she continues to grow, evolve, and advocate for heart-centered practices in education—blending creativity, imagination, neuroscience, and compassionate presence into transformative student experiences.

Showing Up: A Practice of Self-Presence
When asked how she describes her artistic practice, Amelia doesn’t begin with materials or technical skills; she begins with intention.

“The art of showing up remains a constant in my daily practice… Self-presence is my greatest present to myself.”

Her work invites students—and adults—to do the same. Through movement, play, and imaginative exploration, Amelia opens a path toward self-awareness: a space where anxiety, doubt, and discomfort can be met with breath, bravery, and growth.

This mindset was shaped early through Theatre Arts, where she experienced firsthand the joy of creative expression and the safety of collaborative, caring learning environments. Today, she recreates that atmosphere for young learners, using a blend of brain science, heart-centered practices, and community collaboration.

A Multifaceted Career Rooted in Compassion
What sets Amelia apart is the beautiful way her roles enrich one another. While many know her as a gifted Teaching Artist, she is also:
• Key Costumer, I.A.T.S.E. 487 – bringing creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability from the film industry
• Mental Health First Responder – certified through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing
• Creator of Body, Breathe, Awareness (BBA) – a program supporting emotional regulation and body harmony
• Facilitator of monthly wellbeing workshops through her union’s YouTube channel

Across each arena, she follows the same internal compass: curiosity, compassion, and the desire to help others see their own strength.

Her journey during the 2020 pandemic exemplifies this commitment. As the film industry shut down, Amelia turned her home into a learning pod for young children, grounding them in empathy and nonviolent communication. She deepened her mental health training and ultimately co-created BBA—an initiative that helped launch her into YA’s RAISE (Responsive Arts in School Education) professional development program, where she honed skills in SEL, trauma-informed practice, and healing-centered engagement.

Becoming a National Credentialed Teaching Artist
For Amelia, receiving the Young Audiences National Credential is both a milestone and a catalyst.

“It lights me up to have this opportunity to grow bigger and bolder within a community that supports arts in education!”

This credential recognizes her deep commitment to elevating young people’s well-being through imaginative, embodied learning. In her small-group sessions during the credentialing process, she found profound value in vulnerability, connection, and reflective practice—spaces where everyone was encouraged to “speak in draft form.”

Professionally, she sees this recognition as a pathway to expand her impact, especially as she works to strengthen heart-based learning in schools and communities.

Teaching with Heart, Movement, and Community
In Amelia’s residencies, desks often disappear and circles appear. Students get on their feet. They breathe. They move. They imagine. They create.

Her teaching follows the arc of a rainbow:
warm up → bridge activity → activation → community creation → reflection

Students collaborate on stories, spark their imagination through illogical movement, and discover how the arts can shift their emotional landscape. Many leave with a deeper understanding of their own agency.

“Every young learner I work with walks away knowing they have personal power to choose and be the editor in chief of their own life story.”

One of her most memorable projects—a high school biology class turned investigative theatre ensemble—revealed just how transformative arts integration can be. Through writing, staging, and designing a performance based on anatomy and crime investigation themes, students discovered new connections, confidence, and community that resonated far beyond the classroom.

Looking Ahead
Even as she celebrates this milestone, Amelia is already envisioning what’s next. She hopes to:
• Expand into public speaking and large-group workshops
• Participate in Young Audiences’ ARTISTIC (America Responds To In-School Teaching with Innovation and Creativity) program
• Author a book capturing her philosophy and techniques

Her long-term mission remains beautifully simple:

“I want to activate people through their heart space… a place that houses our feelings of belonging, comfort, and emotional connection.”

New Artists: Adding Depth, Passion, and Talent to our Roster

June 24, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

We’ve welcomed a number of new teaching and performing artists to our professional roster in recent months—and we wanted to share a brief introduction to each. For more information, click on the artist’s name.

Amanda Wallace is a visual artist whose specialty is encaustic painting. She’s taught art throughout Hampton Roads, Washington DC, and Northern Virginia.

Amina Bryant is a violinist and music educator with a deep passion for working with young students. This spring, she was the teaching artist for one of our Strings Impact residencies in Portsmouth, where students learn the basics of the violin.

Ashlee Rey is an actor who has performed in numerous productions in Hampton Roads. With a background in STEM that included a stint as a supervisory nuclear engineer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, she has now decided her “heart is with the arts.”

Ashley Ault is a visual artist educator who has worked with students in public schools in North Carolina and Virginia for more than a decade.

Gary “G” Garlic Jr. is a singer and musician who plays piano, drums, bass, and guitar. He’s joining his father, longtime A4L percussionist JuJu Drum, as a performing artist in a new ensemble called One World Beats.

Janae Thompson is a theatrical performer with numerous acting credits in Hampton Roads and beyond.

Kiara Noble is a dancer, musician, and theater artist whose experience ranges from musical theater to ballet, jazz, and lyrical dance.

Nin-Eanna Bryant is a visual artist who has exhibited her work in juried exhibitions and art shows across Hampton Roads.

Sequoia Rodwell-Lacewell is a visual artist in Hampton Roads who paints abstract acrylic paintings and custom watercolors.

Both Nin-Eanna and Sequoia served as teaching artists for our IDEAL residencies this spring.

We’re pleased to report that we’re also on-boarding some additional new artists. By doing so, we expand the breadth and depth of our programming, providing students with an even greater diversity of art forms, artistic expertise, cultural and historical perspectives, and teaching styles. We’ll look forward to sharing more about our other new artists soon!

If you’re an artist who’s passionate about arts education and its potential to touch students’ lives by sparking creativity and a love of learning, we’d like to hear from you. Read more about how to become an Arts for Learning Virginia artist here.

If you’re an educator who wants to get a jump on the school year, contact us! You can book any of the artists we’ve shown here or others on our roster. Here’s the full list.

You may also search by program, breaking it down by grade level, art form, content, theme, and more: https://arts4learningva.org/program/

Better yet, talk with our expert, School and Community Relationships Coordinator Katie Driskill. She’ll help you explore options that are just right for your students. Reach her at 757-961-3737 or Scheduling@Arts4LearningVA.org.

IDEAL 2025: Identity, Collaboration, & Community

May 13, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

“I feel like I grew a lot in my artistic skills and socialization skills, as a person in general. It’s really helped me express how I feel.” Sophia Sharp, Bayside Sixth Grade Campus, Virginia Beach

Sophia points to a friend’s painting displayed at the Chrysler Museum.

“I learned that I can express my feelings through my artwork. That’s what I’m most proud of. Now I’m able to see that I have full potential in making different things. I’m capable of doing anything.” Davin (DJ) Johnson-Smith, Park View Elementary, Portsmouth

On May 8th, students, their family members, educators, and Arts for Learning teaching artists, staff, and board members gathered at the Chrysler Museum of Art for a reception and student exhibition of art. But this wasn’t any ordinary reception—it was a joyous celebration of students’ hard work, creativity, and growth following 20 after-school sessions of IDEAL, Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages.

In this third and final year of IDEAL, students in fourth to sixth grades from three Title 1 schools in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach have explored who they are and what they stand for through visual art, poetry, movement, and music. They were guided by residency stewards at each school and teaching artists Jackie Adonis and Dai Poole at Norfolk’s Lake Taylor School, Nfon Asuquo and Nin-Eanna Bryant at Portsmouth’s Park View Elementary, and Cindy Aitken and Sequoia Rodwell-Lacewell at Virginia Beach’s Bayside Sixth Grade Campus.

Emotions ran high as students and parents first caught a glimpse of their artwork professionally displayed at the Chrysler’s Margaret Shepherd Ray Family and Student Gallery.

“Just the fact I’m seeing my daughter’s work in a museum… I am so proud of her. Beyond proud,” said Sheri, mother of Bayside student Chloe Odallo. “The artwork that I’m seeing is just spectacular. I feel overwhelmed. I cannot even lie.”

Students said the opportunity to develop and refine their artistic skills was one of the best parts of IDEAL, with many mentioning they’d learned techniques such as how to draw faces and shading and blending colors.

Isis with her painting (center top) created with a unique process.

Lake Taylor student Isis Saunders went a step further, having teaching artist Dai Poole burn the edges of her painting. In her artistic statement, she wrote, “The paper is burnt to represent the heat of the sun, and the painting is made to look ‘old’ and faded because this painting represents our memories.”

Beyond artistic skills, many students said they felt more confident now, with parents echoing that sentiment, seeing positive changes in their children.

Ritisha reads her artistic statement on stage.

“I saw her for the first time on stage. I didn’t know if she’d make it. She was nervous, but she made it,” said Mukti Patel, mother of Ritisha, a Park View Elementary student. Ritisha had never performed in front of an audience before. After she read her artistic statement on stage, she said she felt calm and proud of herself for overcoming her jitters.

Nicole Sharp, Sophia’s mother, called the IDEAL residency “impressive.”

“I really love the way it’s encouraged her to be more confident in expressing herself and given her the ability to more effectively communicate how she’s feeling emotionally.”

Upper elementary school can be a time of great change, but students in the IDEAL residency discovered that art can be an effective outlet to express themselves.

“Art helps people understand what I’m feeling,” said Willow Martinez, a student at Lake Taylor. “I’ll continue as an artist because it helps get out my emotions.” Another Lake Taylor student, Orlando Wiggins, said he had “learned how to express my feelings better through art,” and added that it was “amazing” to see his art displayed at the Chrysler Museum.

Teaching artist Sequoia Rodwell-Lacewell believes IDEAL has helped students identify who they truly are. She was particularly struck by the growth in one girl.

When she first started, she was very shy and quiet. She wasn’t quite sure of who she was or what she liked. She was questioning a lot of things. And as time went on, she allowed who she was inside to show throughout her art… She got to experience coming out of her shell.”

A high degree of collaboration was required for IDEAL since the residencies took place in multiple schools and multiple school divisions and involved a partnership with the Chrysler Museum. The idea of “community” was core to its success.

For Bayside student Lennon Anderson, making art wasn’t the most important part of IDEAL.

“It was doing art with a community. It felt welcoming. I felt I was with my people.”

Enjoy this slideshow of a few IDEAL pictures taken by J.B. Digital Photography.

To see many more photos and download ones you choose at no cost, head here: IDEAL Photo Album.

There was no fee for students to participate in IDEAL, meaning Arts for Learning was only able to develop and implement this program with the support of outside funders. We knew we would be able to move forward with our ambitious undertaking once we received the largest grant in our organization’s history from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation; we’ll always be grateful for their support. Additional funders who made this initiative possible are as follows: Chrysler Museum of Art, Arts Alliance, Mr. Gary Jensen, LISC Hampton Roads, Mellen Street Creative, Norfolk Arts and Humanities Commission, Portsmouth Museum and Fine Arts Commission, Portsmouth Service League, PRA Group, Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, Virginia Commission for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and Walmart. Our sincere thanks to all!

The IDEAL student art exhibition remains on display through June 1 at the Chrysler and is free and open to the public.

Helping Create the Change to Invest in the Arts

April 8, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

“What do you like best about the ACT OUT theater residency?”

“I like acting on the stage.” Sariyah, Cradock Middle School
“I like the teamwork part and just coming together.” Nyla, Cradock Middle School
“I like coming up with a storyline/idea/concept.” Lyla, Cradock Middle School
“I like the scripts.” NaYomi, Cradock Middle School
“I got to have fun and I got to create a lot of different things.” Sania, Waters Middle School

A big round of applause for the students, artists, and educators who made our pilot theater program, ACT OUT, a success. Students performed last Friday in the Portsmouth Arts Festival Theater Showcase, demonstrating what they’d learned about acting and much more to family and friends in the audience.

In addition to the benefits to the individual students who participated, we’re thrilled that ACT OUT has jump started Portsmouth Public Schools’ plans to expand its theater program. With strong enrollment in our spring residencies at Cradock, Waters, and Churchland Middle Schools, we’ve shown the interest is there. According to Joe Harmon, Coordinator of Secondary Performing Arts, PPS is hoping to offer theater classes at all three of its high schools in the future, beyond the single one now at Churchland High School.

Teaching artist Dai Poole worked with both staff and students at Churchland and Cradock Middle Schools, where he says there’s a shared belief in the “transformative power of the arts within a well-rounded education.”

Through theater, students gain invaluable skills—teamwork, public speaking, problem-solving, memory retention, and more—that serve them both on and off the stage. Sharing my firsthand experience as a working professional helped make the dream feel tangible, and that, to me, makes it all worthwhile. I strive to be the kind of inspiration I once needed at their age.”

During the twice-weekly, six-week residency, students learned introductory concepts of theater arts, including character development, improv, and stage awareness, while exploring personal strengths and creative expression.

Demonstrating what they’d learned, Waters Middle School students presented “Tales from the Enchanted Forest” at the showcase, guided by teaching artist Katherine Willet.

They designed their own costumes and then built them. Watching them come up with ideas for what they wanted to do and seeing those ideas come to life is amazing.”

Cradock students presented “Middle School Challenges” at the showcase. Teaching artist April Uhrin says students did a great job rehearsing, taking direction, and offering insight and ideas after she demonstrated different aspects of theatrical styles and storytelling during one session. And she was pleased with the growth she saw in students who participated throughout the residency.

Towards the end of our sessions, I could see the difference in their confidence along with comfort level on stage.”

“What do you like best about the ACT OUT theater residency?”

“Everything.” John, Waters Middle School

Remembering Jean Shackelford: An Exceptional Arts Advocate and Friend of Young Audiences of Virginia

February 3, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

“Among her greatest joys was her 33 years of involvement with Young Audiences of Virginia! She served on the Board of Directors for numerous years and as President. She loved Young Audiences’ creative offerings annually to involve children in the arts.” Obituary for Jean Hogge Shackelford

Arts for Learning mourns the loss while celebrating the remarkable life of Jean Shackelford, who died last month at the age of 95. Jean made a lasting contribution to arts education in Hampton Roads and Virginia as a whole.

“She had such a huge impact on arts education in Virginia. I think others have tried to fill her shoes, but I don’t think we’ve ever had such a strong advocate as Jean,” said Beth Hazelette, immediate past president of the A4L board of directors. “Her passion and her drive were to provide quality arts education programming for all students.”

Jean was a teacher and administrator in Portsmouth Public Schools for decades, and, as Beth put it, “built the program” as the supervisor of music for PPS. Beth, who served as supervisor of music for Norfolk Public Schools, considered Jean a mentor. They first met when Beth was a high school choral student and continued the relationship for decades as Beth became a teacher and later an administrator and board member for Young Audiences, where they worked side by side.

“She worked really, really hard for the students and educators of Portsmouth,” Beth said. “She was so tough, but for a good reason. She worked tirelessly to promote a program that could have easily gone by the wayside. She was a bulldog. She wouldn’t let it die. She wanted to make sure all the students in Portsmouth had opportunities in music.”

Longtime board member Minette Cooper first worked with Jean in 1975, developing and implementing programs that put teaching artists in the classroom to guide students in music, poetry, and dance. Minette credits Jean with smoothing the way to integrate the arts into the schools.

“She was a remarkable lady who accomplished so much because she could persuade people to help when probably no one else could,” Minette said. “She was a doer, a really well-informed doer who could get things done as easily as possible. She was phenomenal.”

Minette Cooper, Jean Shackelford, Judy Thaler, Susan Einhorn, and Marty Einhorn celebrate the 65th anniversary of Young Audiences of Virginia/Arts for Learning in 2019.

In addition to her work in Portsmouth, Jean was a powerful voice for arts education at the state level. She received Lifetime Achievement and Distinguished Service awards for 20 years of leadership as a member of the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA). And after she retired from Portsmouth Public Schools in 1989, her efforts continued—she served for 11 years as the legislative liaison in the General Assembly, working to establish the Virginia Coalition for Fine Arts Education that advocates for the arts across the Commonwealth. She acted as a vital communications link to VMEA about all legislation that might affect the arts.

“She had this passion not just for Portsmouth and Portsmouth school students but for music students across the state. She made sure that someone was keeping an eye on what was happening in Richmond because there were a lot of decisions being made that in the end did impact the arts,” Beth said. Those decisions included the initial years of implementing high-stakes testing in Virginia. Beth says Jean was on the “ground floor” as Virginia created grade-specific Standards of Learning (SOLs), making sure the arts weren’t ignored amid the push to emphasize core academic subjects.

After her retirement, Jean also joined the board of directors of Young Audiences, serving multiple terms as president. As a recipient of Young Audiences’ Arts-in-Education Advocacy award, Jean was lauded for her leadership, insight, and vision. The proclamation states:

“Particularly of note is her guidance in helping us understand and utilize the Standards of Learning as a vehicle to better serve Virginia schools.”

Among other contributions as a board member, Jean helped secure new grant funding for various projects and was instrumental in helping to develop the current mission statement of “engaging and inspiring” students in and through the arts.

“She lived her passion for arts education, she really did,” Beth said. “She led a very purpose-driven life.”

For more on Jean’s lasting contributions to arts education as well as other aspects of her life—such as eight years as an elected member of the Portsmouth City Council—please read this: Jean Hogge Obituary. We wish her family members peace in this time of mourning and express our gratitude for all Jean achieved for the students, educators, and artists of Virginia.

If you’d like to make a memorial contribution to Arts for Learning in honor of Jean, please click on this link: Donate Now

A Journey of Presence, Creativity, and Heart-Centered Teaching

New Artists: Adding Depth, Passion, and Talent to our Roster

IDEAL 2025: Identity, Collaboration, & Community

Helping Create the Change to Invest in the Arts

Remembering Jean Shackelford: An Exceptional Arts Advocate and Friend of Young Audiences of Virginia

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