Amina Quraishi is a Seattle-based teaching artist who has worked with organizations including Creative Advantage, Seattle Public Schools, King County Libraries, Arts Impact, Seattle Asian Art Museum and Seattle Children's Museum. As an educator her goal is to create wide-scale awareness, representation, and appreciation for diverse art forms with arts integrated learning.
“I hope to inspire students to think in new ways and make connections across their subjects in school with an arts-infused approach of teaching/learning,” Amina writes. “Art is a universal language and a powerful tool to celebrate and share our differences.”
Amina’s artwork is inspired by the rich history of Islamic art and the natural world. She uses traditional tools and methods of creating geometric and biomorphic (Arabesque) patterns in hopes to practice and preserve the tradition of Islamic art.
Teaching Superpower: Creating a calm and immersive art making environment
“TAT Lab… has challenged me to really dig deep and define the purpose and space I want to create when teaching,” she writes. “I am learning that my role as a teaching artist has great potential beyond just teaching art concepts in the classroom. TAT Lab is helping me find my purpose and confidence as an educator.”
TAT Lab’s Teaching Artist R.I.S.E. Award honors diverse arts education voices in Washington state by supporting recipients’ participation in the TAT Lab Core Program. Recipients are emerging leaders in arts education and represent/work with underserved communities including BBIA and BIPOC communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, People with disabilities, Multilingual or English Language Learner (ELL) communities, Immigrant and/or refugee communities, Rural communities and communities outside King and Pierce counties. Learn more at: https://www.arts.wa.gov/tat-lab-core-program/
Images courtesy of Amina Quraishi