LIVE ART: A Positive Change in this World

LIVE ART is a program for students with special needs and students who are typically developed. They work collaboratively, with integrated forms of performance and visual art, culminating in a live performance. LIVE ART sought to use innovative methods of pedagogy, peer support and artistic influence to create a new curriculum where all students, regardless of ability, could grow. Along with this account, this thesis illustrates the experience of one teaching artist and his growth and journey through the program. His personal struggles with previous educational systems are mirrored in the struggles of the students, with their successes leading to his own. The thesis culminates in the revelation of teaching as a necessary mode for his own growth