ITAC8 – LOUDER TOGETHER | Belgium, 28–30 August 2026
Louder Together 2026 is a unique conference festival in Antwerp, Belgium, bringing together children, young performers, and teaching artists from around the world in a 10-day crossover between the AITA/IATA World Children’s and Youth Performing Arts Festival and the 8th International Teaching Artist Conference (ITAC8). From 28–30 August, ITAC8 will explore how teaching artists act as connectors between art, education, and communities, igniting imagination, bridging differences, and creating spaces for inclusive and resilient ways of thinking and creating. This dynamic format invites a diverse international audience of professionals to share practice and inspire one another. Seanse is one of the original initiators of ITAC and has contributed to the development of the ITAC network since its start.
Get innvolved in ITAC8 here
INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ARTIST COLLABORATIVE (ITAC)
In 2012, Seanse carried out a project called «Teaching Artist Norway,” which would eventually become the first-ever International Teaching Artist Conference!
Developed in close collaboration between Eric Booth who is in the Artistic Council for Seanse and Seanse Director Marit Ulvund, ITAC1 featured a practical-artistic focus and international perspective, immediately garnering an enthusiastic reception from colleagues across the world. This conference would then lead the way to ITAC2 and ITAC3 and to The International Teaching Artists Collaborative as we now know it.
The International Teaching Artists Collaborative (ITAC) is now a world-wide network for artists who work in participatory settings to create positive social impact. These practitioners go by many titles in different countries and languages— often called Teaching Artists, Participatory Artists, Community Artists, or Socially Engaged Artists, and other titles
ITAC HUB
Seanse is one of four ITAC hub. The role of an International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC) Hub is to provide a platform for organizations to deepen their own national/regional sector, offering access to a global network that facilitates cultural exchange, online learning and information sharing, and lobbying and advocacy.
Norway ITAC Hub
The Norway ITAC Hub is led by Seanse Art Center, an organization committed to helping children and youth experience and express themselves through art. Seanse offers artist residencies, seminars, workshops, and conferences. In 2012, Seanse hosted, with international partners, the first International Teaching Artist Conference in Oslo. SEANSE recently organised ITAC6 together with ITAC Collaborative, which took place online 29 - 31st August 2022, and in-person in Oslo Sept 1st - 3rd 2022, bringing together Teaching Artists from all over the world.
United States ITAC Hub
The United States Hub is co-hosted by the Teaching Artists Guild (TAG), a national organization by and for Teaching Artists, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, an arts organization in New York City, and a home to Teaching Artists for over 40 years. TAG brings a vast network of Teaching Artists, resources, and tools. Lincoln Center brings unparalleled artists and a history of excellence in arts education. Together, TAG and Lincoln Center will work together to ensure artists and Teaching Artists are at the forefront of their work. TAG and Lincoln Center know we are living in challenging times and collectively believe that artists have the necessary tools to help us reimagine our world.
New Zealand ITAC Hub
The ITAC Hub in New Zealand is hosted by the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland. The Centre works in partnership with artists, educators, academics, policy makers, and communities carrying out practice-based research on the possibilities of the arts for social transformation. The Centre seeks more just and equitable worlds, understanding that central to critical citizenship and participatory democracy, the arts accept and disrupt the chaos of post normal times, awakening our senses to the joy and wonder of becoming more fully human.
South Korea ITAC Hub
Host of ITAC5 in 2020, the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) leads South Korea's ITAC Hub. A public agency in the Republic of Korea, KACES was established under the enactment of the ‘Support for Arts and Culture Education Act’ in 2005. KACES caries out a range of public projects that provide access to quality arts and culture education to all members of society, facilitated by TAs and practitioners from various fields. The South Korea ITAC Hub will focus on developing Teaching Artists' practices and advocacy efforts, and supporting a larger sector that grows and responds.
What is an Teaching Artist?
Teaching Artists are the global workforce with the power to engage communities and creatively catalyze social change. As Teaching Artists face growing demands and a range of societal challenges, ITAC is committed to meeting Teaching Artists within their own unique contexts and supporting their increased impact.
Teaching artists, also known as artist educators or community artists, are professional artists who supplement their incomes by teaching and integrating their art form, perspectives, and skills into a wide range of settings. Teaching artists work with schools, after school programs, community agencies, prisons, jails, and social service agencies. Eric Booth who is part of Seanses Artistic Council and together with Seanse leader Marit Ulvund initated ITAC1 that led to ITAC Collaborative, has defined a teaching artist as "a practicing professional artist with the complementary skills, curiosities and sensibilities of an educator, who can effectively engage a wide range of people in learning experiences in, through, and about the arts. This term applies to professional artists in all artistic fields.
In 2022 Seanse Art Center arranged the Sixth International Teaching Artist Conference as a 10 year anniversary from the start in 2012. The ITAC6 theme — ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE — explores the intersections of teaching artistry with education, health, environment, and society in the 2020s.
To see the ITAC6 program, photos and it's contributors go to ITAC6's event page.
ITAC’s History and Origins in Oslo
ITAC1
In 2012, a small but passionate group of artists, educators, and visionaries gathered in Oslo with a simple yet powerful idea: What if teaching artists from around the world could come together to share, learn, and inspire one another? That question led to the birth of the International Teaching Artist Conference (ITAC), a biennial gathering designed to connect, support, and amplify the work of artists who teach in communities, schools, and beyond.
The first ITAC conference, ITAC1, was hosted by Seanse Art Center in Oslo. With just 120 participants from 24 countries, it was a modest beginning—but its impact was anything but small. The energy, creativity, and connections forged in those three days sparked a global movement. Since then, ITAC has grown into the world’s leading platform for teaching artists, traveling across continents, adapting to new challenges, and always staying true to its original spirit of collaboration and innovation.
From Oslo to Brisbane, Edinburgh to New York, Seoul to Auckland, and soon Antwerp, each ITAC conference has built on the last, expanding the network, deepening the dialogue, and reimagining the role of art in society. Here’s a look at how ITAC has evolved over the years:
International Teaching Artist Conferences (ITAC)
ITAC1 (2012, Oslo, Norway)
In August 2012, something special happened in Oslo. Seanse Art Center brought together 120 teaching artists from 24 countries and six continents for the very first International Teaching Artist Conference. It was a gathering full of energy, curiosity, and a shared belief in the power of art to transform lives. For three days at the House of Literature, participants took part in dynamic keynotes, hands-on masterclasses, and lively workshops. No one knew it at the time, but this small, passionate event would plant the seeds for a global movement. Before ITAC1 even ended, Australia stepped forward to host the next conference, and the ITAC journey had begun.
ITAC2 (2014, Brisbane, Australia)
Two years later, the momentum carried the conference to Brisbane, where the Queensland Performing Arts Center and Queensland University of Technology welcomed teaching artists from around the world. ITAC2 built on the connections made in Oslo, deepening the sense of community and expanding the conversation about what teaching artistry could achieve. The conference felt like a confirmation: this was more than just a one-time event—it was the start of something lasting.
ITAC3 (2016, Edinburgh, Scotland)
Edinburgh became the next stop in 2016, with Creative Scotland and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation hosting a conference that felt both intimate and ambitious. Here, the ITAC Leadership Committee took shape, and a delegation from Korea began dreaming about bringing the conference to Asia. The spirit of collaboration was stronger than ever, and the idea of a year-round platform for teaching artists started to take root.
ITAC4 (2018, New York, USA)
New York City played host in 2018, with Carnegie Hall, DreamYard, and Lincoln Center Education co-leading the event. ITAC4 was a turning point—the launch of the ITAC Collaborative gave teaching artists a way to stay connected and keep the conversation going long after the conference ended. Over 300 artists from more than 28 countries came together, proving that the need for this kind of gathering was only growing.
ITAC5 (2020, Seoul, South Korea)
When the world shut down in 2020, ITAC didn’t skip a beat. Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) transformed the conference into ITAC’s first digital experience, reaching nearly 2,000 teaching artists online. What could have been a setback became an opportunity, showing how art and connection could thrive even in a virtual space. KACES showed what is possible giving the momentum and inspiration for ITAC6.
ITAC6 (2022, Oslo, Norway)
Ten years after it all began, ITAC returned to Oslo for its sixth conference. This time, the theme was “Art as a Catalyst for Change,” reflecting a decade of growth and a deeper understanding of how teaching artistry intersects with education, health, and society. ITAC6 was a celebration—a mix of in-person and online sessions that honored the past while looking boldly toward the future.
ITAC7 (2024, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand)
In 2024, the conference traveled to Aotearoa New Zealand, hosted by the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland. ITAC7 was a vibrant gathering, with a strong focus on indigenous perspectives and the power of art to foster community and transformation. It felt like a homecoming for many, a chance to reconnect and reimagine what teaching artistry could be.
ITAC8 (2026, Antwerp, Belgium)
Looking ahead, ITAC8 will take place in Antwerp in 2026, where it will join forces with the World Children’s and Youth Performing Arts Festival for a unique “congrestival” called LOUDER TOGETHER. This next chapter promises to be another leap forward, blending performance, workshops, and global connection in a way only ITAC can. Teaching artists create connections between art, education and communities. By using an emancipatory and activating artistic approach, they succeed in cultivating individual and social imagination.
