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Of course people are going to be scared of going into the arts because they don’t know what it looks like, they don’t know what skills they need, they don’t have the networks, they’re not prepared. So, I’m trying to provide some of that. Because I feel like the arts as a field, an industry, it needs these smart kids. -- Ellen Oh
Maggie Guggenheimer
Director of External Relations at Virginia Humanities
Ellen Oh
Director of Programs in the Office of the Vice President for the Arts at Stanford University
Maggie and Ellen describe how their rich careers in arts administration also eventually led to teaching and how what they’ve done in their non-academic professional work informs their pedagogy. Although their circumstances are different, as they talk they discover that they have both encountered challenges teaching professional courses at liberal arts institutions. But you'll hear that Maggie and Ellen have both remained passionate about exposing students to real-life skills in the classroom as a way to demystify the wider art world and open a path forward for a diverse range of voices.
Despite the many problems with how the contingency system operates, this conversation highlights the compelling social justice role that professionals who teach part-time can play in advancing the mission of arts education today.
Runtime: 37:32 minutes