Tay Barbee

Tell me about your arts education growing up. What did it look like?

Arts education was an incredibly substantial part of my life growing up. For the entirety of my childhood and teenage years, I was heavily involved in art-based courses and extracurriculars. In elementary school, I participated in multiple activities like choir, piano lessons, violin lessons, and after school visual art courses. In middle school, my primary focus pivoted to theater and dance, while also taking some classes in visual arts on the side. In high school, my artistic focus became more narrow as I chose to pursue a pre-professional dance program. All of these programs were located on campus at each of my schools, and many took place during normal school hours.

Was there a particular teacher or experience that changed your relationship with the arts?

While I was lucky enough to have many incredible teachers over the years, no teacher impacted me quite as substantially as my dance teacher during my junior and senior years of high school, Marie Hoffman. Marie pushed me significantly as both a dancer and a human, giving me the opportunity to break through many mental barriers that previously barred me from fully realizing my potential. Marie showed me just how powerful the arts can be when used as tool for self-reflection and personal growth when one fully commits to the act of change.

How has arts education shaped who you are today?

I firmly believe that my arts education has  shaped every aspect of my being in one form or another. Without having the space that my arts education created for self-expression, experimentation, discovery, and overcoming challenges, I cannot imagine the person I would be today.

What skills or qualities did you gain through the arts that you still use today?

Having explored many different mediums and artistic practices in my arts education, there exists a wide variety of skills and qualities I gained from each unique experience. Overall, however, I feel that the most significant skills I gained were from my time in my high school’s dance program. Within this program, my challenging dance classes and choreography experience lead me to develop a strong foundation of leadership skills, problem-solving strategies, and understanding of the process required to transform an idea into a tangible product.

Did you ever face barriers to participating in the arts?

I am grateful to have grown up in an incredibly privileged  position where I never faced any significant barriers, financial or otherwise, to participating in the arts. 

Do you think every child has the same access to quality arts education? Why or why not?

I do not believe that every child currently has equal access to quality arts education. Whether it be personal financial constraints, systemic financial constraints (i.e. lack of district funding), or other factors such as a lack of transportation, there are a plethora of barriers that can prevent a child from having high-quality, equitable access to the arts education they deserve. 

What do you think students lose when they don’t have access to the arts?

When students lack access to the arts, they do not simply lose out on fun activities and projects to bring home to their families, but something much more fundamental. They lose the opportunity to feel empowered by the ability to create something of their own that is personally meaningful. By stripping children of this, they are robbed of an entire language of self expression.

What are your future plans?

I plan to put the leadership and creative problem solving skills I gained from my arts education to good use as a physician. Specifically, I would like to be a primary care provider at a federally qualified health center, helping to address the gaps in healthcare access that exist across the nation. Aside from my medical career, I also plan to continue my personal creative pursuits as a choreographer, musician, and multi-media artist.