A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Teaching Artists in Community-Based Practice

This research inquired into the experience of identity making of teaching artists over time and in relation to a community-based practice. The methodology was a narrative inquiry. Experiences of belonging and agency as they relate to identity making were explored. Three teaching artists working in community-based practices were interviewed in a non structured conversational format, which consisted of four meetings with each participant occurring over a period of several months. Temporality, place, and social context were considered throughout the research. Belonging was explored in relation to such experiences as validation, coherence, and negotiating between different communities of practice. Agency was explored in relation to meaning making, imagination, the challenges of the creative process, and the landscape of the art studio. The element of freedom in the community-based teaching practice of the participants was considered with the experience of vulnerability that ran alongside. Encouraging others through care in teaching was found to be a significant experience for the participants. The shaping of their agency in teaching was supported by a sense of belonging. Seeking a greater sense of belonging was in and of itself an agentic act by the participants. Experiences of belonging and agency were linked to and supported by the participants’ artist practice