TAT-Logo
UPDATE: The TAT Lab Core Program, a 6-month exploration of arts education teaching methods, is paused for the 2025-2026 school year. TAT Lab will continue to offer events and workshops. Stay tuned! 

TAT Lab is a statewide community working at the intersections of arts, education, and teaching artistry. We provide workshops and resources to teaching artists and arts educators across Washington State. TAT Lab welcomes arts educators with all identities who teach in many different contexts and work in any arts discipline.

What is a Teaching Artist?

This short video defines the term ‘teaching artist’. Click here to watch a version with audio description. 

What’s the Big Idea?

This video features TAT Lab faculty, educators, and community members discussing a key instructional design concept- a Big Idea 

Faculty

shannon barnes

Shannon Barnes (she/her)

Program co-Director/Faculty

Shannon is a dance educator and arts administrator committed to inclusive and creative practices. As Director of Community Education at Pacific Northwest Ballet, she oversees community-based programs and partnerships with public schools. Shannon is the 2018 Dance Educators Association of Washington Dance Educator of the Year and a guest instructor for Seattle University. Shannon holds a B.A. in Dance and Psychology from the University of Washington and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Dance in Community from Laban, London.

Ann Marie Caldwell

Ann Marie Caldwell (she/her)

Program Coordinator/Faculty

Ann Marie Caldwell (she/her) is passionate about arts education because it helps people express themselves, solve problems creatively, and build community. A TAT Lab alum, Ann Marie serves as TAT Lab Coordinator and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Community Education Programs Manager. A teaching artist since 2004, Ann Marie has had the honor of teaching youth in a variety of subjects, like creative movement, choreography, improv, creative drama, visual art, and arts integration. Ann Marie grew up in Idaho and holds a BA in theatre.

Lauren Davis (she/her)

Communications Coordinator

Lauren Davis is a curator, writer and administrator who works towards equitable access to the arts for all. She has been Associate Director of ArtX Contemporary, a global art gallery in Seattle, for 15+ years, as well as providing marketing support, grant-writing, and program management for community-based nonprofits including La Sala, a support organization for Latine/x artists, and ReVision Arts, which organizes inclusive and accessible arts programs. She received her MFA in Nonprofit Arts Leadership from Seattle University.

Carina A. del Rosario (she/her)

Faculty/Mentor

Carina is a cultural worker who uses visual art, writing and teaching to build community. Her art has been exhibited in various venues and supported with grants from Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture and Puffin Foundation. She teaches youth to express their experiences and advocate for what matters to them through art. She serves on Seattle Public School’s Antiracist Arts Education Task Force and specializes in arts integration at Arts Corps. KCTS presented her with its 2020 Golden Apple Award.

TAT Lab faculty

Tamar Krames (she/her)

Program Co-Director/Faculty

Tamar joins the TAT Lab team as a multimedia artist, National Board Certified teacher, instructional coach, and arts administrator. Her work in schools is an ongoing exploration of how equity ideals show up in the everyday craft of teaching. As ArtsWA’s Arts in Education (AIE) Program Manager, Tamar oversees a variety of programs that support the creative practices of youth and educators. Tamar holds a Master in Teaching degree from The Evergreen State College and a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.

Tina LaPadula (she/her)

Faculty/Mentor

Tina LaPadula is a warrior for equitable arts education. For more than 15 years she poured her creative energy into Arts Corps, the award winning arts and social justice nonprofit she helped found. Currently, she serves as the Arts Education Manager at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, overseeing the The Creative Advantage. Tina supports the development of teaching artists locally and nationally through the Seattle Teaching Artist Network and as a national advisor for the Teaching Artist Guild.

Orlando Morales (he/him) 

Faculty/Mentor

Orlando is a Seattle-based musician, educator, and songwriter. He is currently Assistant Artistic Director for the Tacoma Refugee Choir and holds a Masters in Teaching from the University of Washington. He has over eighteen years of experience teaching music and theater and over thirteen years of experience as an arts administrator (Seattle Children’s Theatre, 2013-2015; The 5th Avenue Theatre, 2010-2013, 2015-2023) working to empower young people, build community, and use the performing arts to dismantle systems of oppression.

Sign Up For TAT Lab E-News
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
Questions? Contact TATLab@PNB.org or 206.441.2415

Funding Partners

TAT Lab is produced by the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) and Pacific Northwest Ballet, with funding support from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and the Laird Norton Family Foundation.