About Us
About Us
Who we are
The Artist Collective
The Artist Collective’s mission is utilizing dance instruction as a vehicle to build a space for justice thinking. Through dancing together, students and teaching artists unlearn the harmful fallacies and stereotypes designed to divide, oppress, and strip away our collective humanity. Through embodied experiences in the classroom, participants cultivate a foundation of mutual respect, understanding, and love in which justice takes root.
The Artist Collective, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by Robert Gilliam to provide a creative outlet for minority dance artists, underserved communities and underfunded arts programs in Los Angeles.
+
Dance Class
+
Instructors
+
Districts
+
Happy Schools
Meet the Founder
Robert Gilliam
Robert Gilliam is an internationally acclaimed choreographer, master teaching artist, and the director of Artist Collective, a non-profit organization that provides high-quality K-12 arts education throughout Los Angeles. He also serves as the Director of Creative Community International, which offers art programs for at-risk youth around the world. He is the co-owner of On The Edge (OTE) Dance Studio in Culver City.
Gilliam started as a street dancer in South Los Angeles as a member of the Wave Masters Crew. After high school, he turned down football scholarships to pursue his real passion – dance. Robert received a dance scholarship from California Institute of the Arts and was the recipient of the Lester Horton Choreography Award. He has since been recognized for his work by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the James Irvine Foundation commission. He has received two dance Chancellor’s Awards and has been voted best jazz dance instructor by Los Angeles Magazine.
Additionally, he served for eight years as a Master Teaching Artist for the Music Center Education Division, which is the second-largest arts education provider in the country. For the past 11 years, Robert has produced “Moving Beyond Walls,” a 10-week residency dance program for juvenile detention centers and behavioral clinics throughout LA County. Gilliam’s professional work and community-based projects have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Dana Foundation, United States Embassy Panama, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, MetLife Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, Playa Vista Education Foundation, Rose Hills Foundation, and the Santa Monica Education Foundation.
Our Teachers
Our high quality training ensures all students receive the best possible experience in the arts.
Each teaching artist from the Artist Collective is hand picked for their unique talents and ability to empower and enlighten students. Before servicing schools, they undergo an intense arts educator training, mentorship and learn the Artist Collective formula to give each school the best experience.
Student Centered
Collaborative
Empowering
Love Soaked
Life Lessons
Empowered Students
At the end of our session each student will feel empowered to use the arts to communicate. Whether they are expressing feelings, taking a social justice stand or explaining a process in project based learning, students will feel the freedom to be themselves. They are encouraged to “Do U” and be themselves at all times.