We are honored to present this advanced training for graduates of Bartol’s Trauma-Informed Practice Certificate training who serve Philadelphia communities. This workshop is designed and facilitated by Mohsin Mohi-Ud-Din of MeWeInternational, in collaboration with Bartol. 

If accepted, you must attend all three sessions on Friday, February 6th from 6 to 8pm EST, Saturday, February 7th from 10am to 4pm, and Sunday, February 8th from 10am to 4pm (all times are in EST). 

Our stories, the ones we claim and the ones placed on us, influence our beliefs about ourselves, including our worth, potential, and relationship to our community and society as a whole. Conversely, systems of oppression regularly craft and leverage stories about individuals and communities to justify punishment, deny aid, or seed disquiet and distrust among populations. Activating MeWeInternational’s trauma-informed Re-Storying framework, as a community of artists, educators, and liberators we will explore the art of storytelling as a tool for reclamation, peacebuilding, and youth development and protection among communities.

During this training, participants will be invited to explore the perspective, language and action necessary to:

1. Decolonize and make neurobiological and psychosocial concepts accessible for participants of any age or walk of life, to empower communities to make the science work for them. 
2. Activate storytelling as a multidimensional tool which can be utilized in any art form or community gathering to prime participants to make connections between themselves, each other, the art they make, and so on.
3. Build the sustaining elements of community into their workshops, empowering participants to replicate what they learned with their neighbors. 

Space in this training is limited. Acceptances will be sent on January 15th. Participating artists will receive a $100 travel stipend after the training is complete.

Participants who are not accepted in this round will have the option to have their application automatically reconsidered for the Spring Cohort, which will be held on April 17th, 18th, and 19th.

APPLICATION CLOSES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2026 AT 11:59PM

The Bartol Teaching Artist Award will provide 10 unrestricted grants of $2,500 to Philadelphia-based artists providing consistent, accessible arts education benefiting communities they are in deep relationship with. This award provides direct financial investment in freelance or independent teaching artists as they design and implement meaningful programs benefiting youth and adults in Philadelphia, and sustain themselves as vital culture bearers and changemakers in their communities.

With lead funding from Marrazzo Family Foundation, this award is designed to provide teaching artists the opportunity to develop their skills, strengthen their connections with their community, and focus on developing visionary new approaches to arts education in Philadelphia.

Who is eligible to apply? Philadelphia-based teaching artists who;

• Are providing consistent, accessible arts education of any discipline that propels communities in Philadelphia forward
• Have a sustained commitment to providing community-engaged arts education, built on a deeply mutual relationship
• Have lived and worked in Philadelphia for at least 2 years
• Work in some capacity as an independent contractor, freelancer, or are self-employed

*Past recipients of Marrazzo/Bartol Teaching Artist Micro-Grants are eligible to apply.

Note that the application will close at exactly 11:59pm on February 16 even if you are in the middle of completing your application so don't wait until the last minute!  You can save a draft of your application and return to it to complete it.  We suggest uploading your attachments first since sometimes you may have glitches that delay submitting your application. You can preview the application questions here before you start.

You will receive an acknowledgement via email when you have successfully submitted your application.  Save this to show you have submitted by the deadline.  If you do not receive a confirmation email, your submission wasn't received.