On the 30th of June, July 1 & 2 we met to discuss, disseminate, and celebrate I-TAP-PD International Teacher-Artist Partnership Professional Development Erasmus+ project in Athens.

“Sustainable models of Teacher- Artist Partnerships (TAP) in 21st century Education: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity” was the title of our Conference and our 3-day endeavor to wrap the core-ideas of the whole project and encapsulate the essential innovative elements for the newcomers and the old members.

Surrounded by questions we dealt with for three years in the project, namely “Who are we?” and “What can we do together?” we structured our main speeches, interest groups, workshops, activities about the identity of the artist in education, the identity of the teacher in the creative process and their interaction. We presented the training material and the research results of the I-TAP-PD creative journey that offered a unique opportunity for teachers and artists to explore the nature and educational value of partnerships in supporting professional and personal development.

Peer educators and artists from all over Europe, with lots of knowledge and experience in many fields of arts, teachers, artists, practitioners, researchers, hybrids and professionals with special interest and/or practice in Teacher-Artist Partnership models shared their good practices, research, ideas, and experiences in formal and non-formal educational contexts. Invited speakers from the Young People’s Stage of the National Theatre of Greece, Kinitiras Network for Performing Arts and Camera Zizanio project shared their experience from the Greek context.

We were more than grateful to have Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Drama Education, Mary Immaculate College (MIC), University of Limerick as our keynote speaker and introduce the contemporary theoretical and practical context in terms of Teacher Artists Partnerships. That was the perfect introduction to our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) about Collaborative models of Teacher- Artist Partnerships (TAP): Case studies of good practices, Educational policies in Arts Education, Research on Teacher-Artist Partnerships and Arts, Creativity and the brain, that followed our plenary sessions.

We participated in workshops about Dance & Movement, Playback Theatre, Visual Arts, Partnerships in Arts and Interdisciplinary Arts Education projects. We enjoyed performances of Puppet Theatre, interactive site specific events and networking with international peers from various creative disciplines.

The I-TAP-PD final event in Athens was the space where 130 people from 6 countries, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Serbia, Germany, UK,seized the opportunity to express and share their passion, their gained knowledge, their positivity and their concerns about Arts in Education and about partnerships in any educational context. We could say that this event worked as a birthplace of new ideas, new connections and future collaborative partnerships and projects.