About Us

The California Arts Project (TCAP) is one of the nine California Subject Matter Projects.

The network of TCAP regional sites and statewide leadership and development center is united in the mission of promoting standards based, equitable, and inclusive arts education for each and every California student. TCAP supports educators through research based, context specific leadership development, planning, and professional learning programs.

TCAP collaborates with school and district educators to create and tailor professional learning programs and support for local priorities, needs, initiatives, and interests of students and communities.

As the California State Subject Matter Project for the visual, media, performing, and career arts, TCAP’s network of Teacher Leaders advocate for and strive to ensure access for all California students to a sequential, comprehensive, and exceptional standards based arts and career arts education.

TCAP’s collaborative network approach to designing and providing professional learning

  • honors the diversity of teachers and students,
  • recognizes that teachers are key to student learning, success and in providing leadership for educational reform,
  • acknowledges and emphasizes the importance of the development of multiple forms of literacy,
  • supports teachers and administrators as they prepare students to meet and exceed California standards,
  • addresses, through differentiated professional learning designs, the unique disciplinary needs, teaching contexts, and grade level configurations found in teaching the arts, and
  • engages Pre-K through university educators in a model of university/school learning and collaboration.

Our Mission

We strive to expand student access and improve student learning and artistic literacy through

  • designing and providing comprehensive, discipline-focused professional learning for educators,
  • building educator leadership, and
  • creating and nurturing collaborative networks of TK-12 educators and university faculty.
We, The California Arts Project, grieve and condemn the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others due to racially motivated violence. These recent tragedies spotlight the pervasive oppression and systemic racism that plagues our institutional structures, long overdue for dismantling.
More than ever we are resolved in our mission to:

  • recognize, respect, and honor the heterogeneity of humanity in all aspects of discipline work in dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts throughout our network,
  • advance the progress made in addressing the issue that while the arts express the human experience, historically, arts education has overemphasized western, white male perspectives, and thus limited the voices and participation of all,
  • ensure our practices lead to a diverse community of learners within our network,
  • engage our network and others in sustained and explicit dialogue around issues of racial disparities and injustice to learn and unlearn, and
  • call out the on-going educational inequities and barriers, such as economic resources, scheduling conflicts, geographic location, so that all students have equitable sequential classroom instruction in the arts taught by appropriately prepared teachers.

We join in action with our fellow California Subject Matter Projects and echo the sentiments of and arts education organizations including, California Arts Education Association (CAEA), California Choral Directors Association (CCDA), California Dance Education Association (CDEA), California Educational Theatre Association (CETA), California Music Educators Association (CMEA).

Where hate divides, the arts have the power to influence, heal, and affect change. The arts have always found ways to bring people together, tell stories that need to be heard, and help communities engage in dialogue to aid in healing. We know that, more than ever, we need safe spaces for people to tell their stories, to speak about injustice, and to know they matter. We join and support arts educators as we work to dismantle injustices, racism, bigotry, and oppression. We ask that arts educators of all races stand together in the fight for equity and equality.

The California Arts Project decisively moves forward as we explicitly and passionately take action towards creating a world where no one need fear for life and liberty because of the color of their skin.

 

Established in 1989

Since 1989, we’ve brought K-12 teachers and university faculty together with a singular goal — to increase access and improve instruction in dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Connect with our regional and statewide communities to join the effort.