Tamara Kaplan

About Tamara

For over 19 years Tamara Kaplan was a youth worker/arts administrator for New Urban Arts, an arts studio for high school students in Providence, Rhode Island, where she collaborated with young artists creating a non-judgmental space that fused mentorship, interdisciplinary arts education, and creative youth development.

After leaving NUA in 2020, Kaplan started barrelyard studio, a creative space for her clay and paper practice. She works as a part-time consultant for small nonprofits helping build capacity through financial management. Kaplan also serves on the board of The Collaborative, an artist space in Warren, Rhode Island.

Before moving to Rhode Island, Kaplan spent years working in various capacities, including a laborer in a tile factory working on the historic restoration of NYC Subway mosaics; an assistant at a production pottery studio; a studio assistant to a potter; and working in her mixed-media studio. Kaplan is an alumna of Interlochen Arts Camp.

I believe in collaborative arts spaces for young people, the power of youth voice, and how we are all teachers and learners in the world. I see art as a practice in making and expressing oneself through a variety of media and concepts. I encourage my students to live and see the world as artistic beings.