ITAC Collaborative launches a new purpose built website
The ITAC Collaborative, the first international network for the participatory arts, has now launched a new purpose-built website. The site www.itac-collaborative.com has been designed in response to a consultation with more than 300 teaching artists from 28 countries, conducted during ITAC’s most recent international conference - ITAC4 at Carnegie Hall (2018) in NYC, USA.
ITAC asked artists who work in community and school settings around the world what the biggest issues they faced in their careers were. Then, collated those responses and designed a website which could begin to address their concerns.
In consultation, ITAC delegates reported the following issues:
- Lack of knowledge of what’s happening in the sector overall – opportunities, funding, partnerships, etc.
- Desire for networking opportunities to connect with others in their field
- Interest in transferable teaching tools, best and next practices, and the need for multilingual resources
- Advocacy information to assert the power of their work to the public, funders, potential partners, government agencies, etc.
As a result the ITAC site features new, innovative ways in which the field of teaching artistry can use the platform to collectively address these issues. Features include:
- Updates posted regularly with the latest international news in funding, research, case studies and more
- A virtual Timeline, which visitors can add to, showing landmark occasions/events in teaching artist history from around the world
- An embedded world map, created by the Teaching Artists Guild (based in the U.S.), showing where on the map other practitioners and supporters exist within our field (and how to reach out to them)
- ITAC conference pages, where visitors can learn about previous and upcoming in-person gatherings happening around the world
- Our Think Tank schedule, offering an online platform through which peers from different countries can connect virtually to discuss hot topics every month
- A dedicated ‘Stories’ page, where colleagues can submit examples of their work to share with others – all of which are available in multiple languages
- Recorded sessions of previous Think Tanks are featured, so colleagues can listen back and learn about topics which are relevant to them
- A ‘research’ page showcasing some of the most popular knowledge banks which already exist within the participatory arts sector
...and more! ITAC sees the launch of this site as an essential first step in creating and guiding a more connected, and better equipped international movement within the teaching artist sector. See for yourself, and visit: www.itac-collaborative.com