A.V. Wayans, Visual Artist
A.V Wayans is a born and raised NYC visual artist, with a style concentration on contour line drawing. A.V’s work focuses primarily on the human experience, “That which connects all of us." Inspired at a very young age to create, A.V continued on this path determining that it should be with purpose that one does all things and joined TAP in 2017 to develop her skills and teaching abilities. As well as attending TAP, A.V has attended The New School, Eugene Lang school for Liberal Arts, majoring in theatre and performance. A.V is currently working on a body of work called the, “When You’re Hurting Project” for women by women that highlights the positions of comfort used by a woman when she is in mental, physical, or emotional pain.
TAP Work:
TAP is A.V’s first Teaching Artist program, it is the place she was truly a student. This year at TAP, A.V was able to study at P.S/ M.S 279 under Katie Rainey and T. Scott Lilly, two of CWP's amazing Teaching Artists. The class focused on writing and theatre, but A.V. was able to incorporate visual arts lesson into the teaching path Katie and Scott created. Writing her first mock lesson this year, A.V presented a lesson plan introducing the art form, Contour Line, giving the students of Class 509 the opportunity to create visual scenes from their community poem. A.V also participated in a mural residency, working with muralist Emet Sosna to bring to life the poems written by all of the 5th grade classes at P.S/M.S 279. A.V was also able to attend some invaluable workshops with National Dance Institute in Harlem, as well as amazing panels with Teaching Artist from different organizations such as Wingspan, Opening Act, Dream Yard, and Marquis Studios.
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“Throughout my time at TAP, my most memorable moment was when I taught my first lesson. I believe it was the most impactful moment for me because of the support I felt in the room from my mentors, Katie and Scott. I believe they trusted me to lead the lesson, but knew where to pitch in when I needed help. The students at 279 were very engaged in my lesson plan and followed instructions even to the smallest detail. Watching the students of Class 509 draw and color to make the scenes from a poem they had written come to life was so inspiring. I learned very quickly in that moment that there are many paths that are taken to get one to create, but the most valuable thing is what is formed at the end. So, in a way it was meant to be that my lesson was about contour line and form.”
Find out more about A.V. here:
Check out A.V.'s Lesson Plan she presented in her CWP residency.
Interested in TAP? Find out more about our 2018-19 Program.
See more of our 2017-18 Graduates in the 2018 TAP Anthology!