Education & Outreach

Brian J. Evans strives to bring the totality of his professional experience to his teaching. Always aware of his privilege as a Mixed Male he uses the opportunity of the classroom to broaden the perspectives of his students and mentor them in cultivating the tools in which to encourage them in their own lives. He feels as though the arts do not build bridges, but instead those bridge already exists with many roadblocks established by systems of oppression and unhealthy connections to ‘otherness.’ Evans feels as though the arts dismantles those systemic issues of separation and it is the responsibility of the Arts community to use those skills to make this world better. Citizen Artistry is a term that best describes this mentality. A Citizen Artist is defined by the Aspen Institute as: 

‘Individuals who reimagine the traditional notions of art-making, and who contribute to society either through the transformative power of their artistic abilities, or through proactive social engagement with the arts in realms including education, community building, diplomacy, and healthcare.’

K-12 

In my estimation, a successful education in public and private institutions have something in common that allows for students and faculty to thrive: space in which to create a safe space that encourages self-exploration through social-emotional learning. The Arts are the best vehicle to foster these habits, cultures, and structures needed to achieve these spaces. As a guest artist and artist in residence in a K-12 setting all the programming I provide are the means to this end. Cultivating skills for both students and faculty to build an environment where both the rigors of academia and the necessity of human growth coincide. All delivered with a healthy amount of social justice, my teaching and mentoring focuses on what ideas want to communicate and what skills can they employ to do so with a sense of cultivated creativity the nuanced problem solver in their toolkit.

Colleges & Universities

While seeking an MFA in Dance, I have relished the opportunities I have had to work within Higher Ed. Artists who have decided to further their artistry in an academic setting is at once an inspiration and a huge responsibility. I learn so much about my art while watching others develop their own. So much so that Citizen Artistry has taken a prominent place in my teaching. Whether these students go on to become performers themselves, I hope that the skills gleaned from a master class or a semester-long course allow them to mold themselves in a way that reflects who they are and enjoy multiple ways of expressing and articulating that temporal reality to all they come in to contact.

Community Offereings

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with many communities. I have developed a comfortability with the unknown and in so doing have been successful in listening to what a group would like and figuring out a way to deliver. Community focused work can be a challenge especially with little to no resources but the gains incurred by way of friendship, knowledge, a sense of purpose and a deepening of human integrity make this type of Art worthwhile. Supporting and crafting projects that provide opportunities for the arts to exist and thrive when they would otherwise not is a primary goal. The Arts are an underutilized resource in this country, and any venture to sway the tide of a less cultured existence is something I hope all folks rally around.