Partners in the Arts' 30th Annual Summer Institute

June 9-13, 2025 | 8:30 am - 4:30 pm | University of Richmond

The Joan Oates Institute (JOI) trains educators to engage and empower all students through creative and experiential methods, reflection, and collaboration.

This year’s institute features cartoonist, writer, educator, and 2019 MacArthur Fellow, Lynda Barry. Her work empowers educators to unlock writing, visual communication, and storytelling in every learner. “I love teaching,” Barry says. “What I’m doing isn’t even teaching. It’s showing people that they already know how to do this stuff. I love to watch them blow their minds with their own minds.”

Participants will experience hands-on workshops that integrate community and culture into their instructional practice through the arts and technology. Educators of all types, disciplines, and grade levels are invited to join this joyful, transformational experience, including PK-12 teachers, school administrators, teaching artists, content area experts, and arts and cultural staff. Rediscover your creative voice, build lasting partnerships, and design instruction that resonates long after the school day ends.