Welcome to the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster
This online Teaching Artist Roster represents Ohio artists who demonstrate artistic excellence; the ability to integrate academic content; effective classroom management and student engagement; and strong communication with education, arts, and cultural partners. Teaching artists on this roster are vetted by an application and observation process and are required to participate in on-going professional development to provide the highest quality arts education experiences and grow their teaching artist knowledge and skills.
For more information, contact Jodi Kushins, arts learning coordinator at the Ohio Arts Council, at jodi.kushins@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-4481.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is committed to equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and inclusion in all aspects of this project. This roster does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, visible or hidden disability, socio-economic status, or veteran status. Teaching artists and roster participants work with a wide variety of students and adults and are encouraged to take this into consideration and be supportive and mindful of different needs.
Accessibility features were considered during the project’s development and are part of ongoing maintenance. If you cannot access any part of this project, please email Jodi Kushins at jodi.kushins@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4481.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is a partnership between the Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, OhioDance, and Art Possible Ohio (formerly VSA Ohio). These partner organizations share administrative maintenance responsibilities and manage the roster and related professional development opportunities. Each organization may prioritize roster artists when fulfilling arts education program needs.
To learn more about these partner organizations and how they individually serve and respond to the needs of Ohio’s teaching artists, we invite you to review the below webinar.
For the purposes of this resource, the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster adopts the Berklee College of Music’s definition of “teaching artist” (also called “artist educator”) as:
“an individual who self-identifies as a practicing professional artist, with a dual career as an educator.”1
Teaching artists are not arts teachers employed by schools. They are community members who partner with schools and other educational providers to deliver performances, workshops, and/or longer-term residency programs. Teaching artists work to supplement and build on existing arts and non-arts curricula and do not supplant the work of licensed or certified arts educators.
1. Berklee College of Music, “Career Communities: What does a Teaching Artist do?” Career Communities. Accessed December 2022.
This roster is designed for use by the community, particularly educators, to assist in identifying teaching artists who can lead high quality arts-integrated and academic content standards-aligned creative opportunities for students. You can search the roster by art form and focus, geography, and other key criteria.
Teaching artist fees may vary depending on the partner organization through which a booking or sponsorship takes place.
- Statewide exposure of artistic and educational talent and experience.
- Ongoing participation in low-cost and relevant professional development from industry leaders.
- Access to a professional community of peers and networks around the state.
- Statewide designation as a high-quality teaching artist especially well-suited for working with PK-12 schools and lifelong learners.
- New or continued opportunities for potential work and programming in and out of schools.
- Opportunity to attend and/or present at unique statewide programs and convenings.
- No application fees.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is not currently accepting applications. Following the summer 2023 application cycle, roster applications transitioned to acceptance every two years. The next application will be available in summer 2025.
This roster is open to teaching artists living in the state of Ohio. To apply for inclusion in the roster, artists are required to complete an application, which will then be vetted and reviewed by partner organizations and other community members. Some applications may require in-person observations prior to final approval. Annually, artists will be required to complete a roster update and participate in at least one approved professional development opportunity.
Successful applicants demonstrate:
- Mastery of at least one arts discipline.
- Knowledge and expertise in pedagogy.
- Knowledge and expertise in arts integration and academic content standards.
- Professionalism in communication, planning, and partnerships.
Application Timeline:
- May 1, 2025 – application available for new roster teaching artists
- July 31, 2025 – application deadline (by 5:00 PM)
- August 2025 – application review and status notification
- September 2025 – online roster updates
