Eric Booth, founding editor of the Teaching Artist Journal (TAJ), was so impressed by the Artist to Artist network when he visited Minnesota in 2004, that when he was looking for a new section editor in Summer 2006, he asked Artist to Artist for help.
A design team now meets quarterly to help edit a popular section of the journal called Resource Exchange (formerly called Resource Roundup).
Resource Exchange reaches out to teaching artists who often work in isolation by offering lively reviews of books, publications, video, and online resources that reviewers believe are timely, important, and practical. Resource Exchange is designed by teaching artists, for teaching artists. Reviewers seek to unearth thought-provoking resources, including those found in unlikely places. The editor and the design team behind Resource Exchange support teaching artists to share what they have to say about important resources and tools in the field—even teaching artists who might not think of themselves as reviewers—by conducting collaborative reviews, interviews, and supplying strong editorial guidance to help bring about the creation of in-depth, practitioner-to-practitioner reviews. Advisers and contributors to the section teach across a range of artistic disciplines and have experience in K-12 education, higher ed, and in a broad array of community and professional development settings.
Members of Artist to Artist—an informal and independent network of teaching artists from across the upper Midwest and increasingly nationally—serve as advisers and contributors to this section. This design team—which meets quarterly and is always looking for new members, near and far—has evolved into its own professional development community as part of Artist to Artist. Members discuss what it means to be a teaching artist as they consider resources to share with colleagues around the country and the world through the pages of the journal.
Click on the Design Team link in the right sidebar to read notes from their meetings.
Are you interested in contributing or want to suggest a resource? The design team is always looking for new ideas! Please contact:
Becca Barniskis Resource Exchange Editor, Teaching Artist Journal beccabarniskis[at]gmail.com