Values & Philosophy
Artists have a unique capacity to engage with the world as dreamers, doers, and community builders.
I am committed to utilizing the arts as a tool for building and celebrating our communities. Holding space for genuine and meaningful belonging is central to my work.
My goal as an artist, educator, and arts leader is to instill the values of genuine artistic citizenship in all my learners.
Artistic citizens are allowed to break the rules. They make space for themselves and others to grow. There is motivation, preparation, accountability, freedom, and truth. They feel a responsibility to the collective human experience.
My practice is rooted in a strengths-based inquiry-driven pedagogy. I prioritize dignity in all aspects of my work, utilizing culturally-responsive and healing-centered practices.
My approach is deeply impacted by artist and community worker Kirya Traber, who seeks to work “in a community way” in any creative endeavor - professional, educational, in leadership, or otherwise.
My work seeks to redistribute the resources of institutions by creating meaningful, long-term bonds between artists, organizations, and schools.
My planning & instruction technique is based on the Universal Design for Learning. I also value communication and respect in all spaces, and work to organically build in inclusive practices rather than rely only on accommodations.
The state of arts work calls for direct and immediate action steps toward an anti-racist and equitable industry. I am committed to accountability and taking these ongoing steps in both my personal and professional spaces.
Photo by Alyssa Leicht
Personal Statement
My passions have always lived at the crossroads of artistic practice and education. I chose to develop a community-engaged practice because I believe art can and should be a community endeavor, existing as a superior creative product, in the process of art-making, and in the lasting effects in participants and our world. Specifically, I believe young people can devise and produce culturally relevant and creatively complex work, and I believe they can create it through a method that affirms their growth and reinforces the values of the lifelong creative process. The artistic process provides for all learners a productive way of dealing with failure, problem-solving, cultural expression, exploration of identity, and questioning power structures. By positioning art-making at the center of community, I hope to contribute to a creative culture that makes art and art-making accessible to all.
About Mackie
Mackie Saylor (she/her) has been connecting schools, artists, and cultural institutions through arts education for over ten years. As a member of Actors’ Equity, she performed regionally and developed her teaching practice with schools and organizations throughout NYC. She also co-founded Ashworth Theatre Company in her hometown of Waukee, IA, in 2012, and led its programs until 2018. After transitioning to arts education full-time, Mackie managed education initiatives at Notes in Motion Dance Theatre and Children’s Museum of the Arts. She currently works as the Local Program Director for Turnaround Arts: NYC. She continues to collaborate with the NYU Verbatim Performance Lab and CO/LAB Theater Group. Mackie also curates the monthly arts ed community newsletter, Our Practice. Mackie holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU Steinhardt.
Photo by PlanetPhotolein