Teaching Artist Training (TAT) Lab

TATLab graphic: How can teaching artists make the broadest impact?

TAT Lab is a statewide community working at the intersections of arts, PreK-12 education, and teaching artistry. We provide workshops and resources to teaching artists and arts educators across Washington State. Together, we deepen our teaching craft and commit to transformative learning in and through the arts.

TAT Lab welcomes arts educators with all identities who teach in many different contexts and work in any arts discipline. Join our yearly cohort of arts educators through the Core Program or check out ongoing community workshops and events.

Core Program

Develop your teaching craft with a statewide community of peers through the TAT Lab Core Program!

In this 6-month program, participants explore:

Learning plan design and frameworks such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and WA State Arts Learning Standards.
Creating inclusive and culturally responsive learning spaces for youth through explorations of racial justice, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and more.
Community building and arts education advocacy.

The Core Program is open to Washington State arts educators, teaching artists, school-based arts specialists, youth arts providers, and classroom teachers working in any artistic discipline.

Learn more and apply for the Core Program

Sponsor an arts educator for the Core Program

Nominate an arts educator for R.I.S.E. Award

TAT Lab Overview Video

See how TAT Lab has built a community of practice with arts educators. While our move to primarily virtual programming began because of the pandemic, TAT Lab has continued this model because it decreases barriers to participation for educators across Washington State.

Upcoming Events

Increasing Student Engagement through Arts Integration

📅 Tuesday May 21
⏰ 4:30-6:30pm
💵 Sliding scale, $0-$40
🌎 Talbott Event Center
4202 S. Regal St, Spokane, WA 99223

Arts integration is a powerful approach for engaging students and increasing their understanding of academic content. In this hands-on workshop, faculty from the Washington State Teaching Artist Training Lab (TAT Lab) will demonstrate how even simple arts lessons with minimal materials can:

• Help students expand their thinking on a topic
• Bring students’ lived experiences and full selves to academic content
• Engage multiple learning types in inclusive ways
• Develop flexible thinking and soft skills that support learning

Participants will experience interactive mini-lessons and explore ways to integrate the arts into your own teaching. Join us to learn new tools you can use immediately and build community with fellow educators in Eastern Washington.

TAT Lab, a collaboration between Washington State OSPI, ArtsWA, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, is a professional development community for teaching artists and arts educators in the state of Washington committed to transformative teaching and learning in and through the arts. TAT Lab provides workshops, resources, and mentorship to arts educators across Washington State.

Faculty

Lauren Appel (she/her/they)

Faculty/Mentor

Lauren Appel has worked in arts education for twenty years. Currently she is an Elementary Art/MakerSpace Specialist with Seattle Public Schools, and works as an educational consultant on local projects and partnerships. Previously she worked with Arts Corps, Hilltop Artists, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Youth Theatre Northwest, Rubin Museum of Art, Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center, and the Guggenheim Museum. Lauren holds a BA in theatre from Smith College and a MSEd in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education.

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 (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.

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.

TAT Lab Core Program

Learn what TAT Lab Alumni are doing throughout Washington State

Arts in Education Main Page

TAT Lab programs are courageous spaces that invite all arts educators working in Washington State regardless of race or ethnicity, gender and gender expression, ability/disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, or any other identities to be their true selves.

Connect with TAT Lab

Sign Up For TAT Lab E-News

Questions? Contact TATLab@PNB.org or 206.441.2415

Funding Partners

TAT Lab is produced by the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and Pacific Northwest Ballet, with major funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts and additional support from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and the Laird Norton Family Foundation.