Episode 44, ACT 1: Dennie Palmer Wolf - Oxygen in the Bloodstream

We've got an incredibly special and thoughtful episode of the podcast for you this week. Episode 44, Act 1: "Oxygen in the Bloodstream," features an insightful conversation between Courtney and Dennie Palmer Wolf, a researcher with WolfBrown, a cross-disciplinary consulting firm that believes "every human being has a unique creative voice of intrinsic worth and that every community has a responsibility to awaken, nurture, and sustain its cultural capital." Ms. Wolf, an artist in her own right (but don’t tell her we told you that), is a recent recipient of the Teaching Artist Ally Award, which was given to her by the Association of Teaching Artists (ATA) for her work in the field. In their conversation, Courtney and Dennie talk through a wide range of topics, from personal connection to art, to embracing one’s past and living in the present, to arts education and the COVID-19 pandemic. But the conversation really lands in the sweet spot of teaching artist advocacy and how seemingly caring and highly-regarded institutions turned their backs on teaching artists and at the start of the pandemic instead of working with them to innovate and elevate their programs through their workforce’s artistry and expertise.