A look at a Black teaching artist residency's inaugural musicians
It’s a kind of open secret: Very few artists make a living solely from their creative work. The vast majority of painters, poets, dancers, and actors hold down day jobs. The same goes for most musicians – and perhaps especially Black composers and musicians, who often lack the institutional support given to their white peers.
Kendra Ross, of ACT3 Consulting, co-created the residency program.
Credit Denele D. Biggs
That's the problem the Black Teaching Artist-in-Residence Program hopes to address. In February, this initiative of the Pittsburgh-based nonprofit UniSound – a collaborative of some three dozen area organizations that helps kids create music – welcomed its inaugural class of two artists.