EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & FOUNDER – FRAN TARR
Fran Tarr
Breaking Walls Executive Director & Founder Fran Tarr, is a renowned artist, Arts Educator, and Creative Activist. She stepped into her elementary Art classroom as a new teacher on the South Side of Chicago, enthusiastic and naive. Instantly Fran realized that if she was doing her job correctly, using the incredible vehicle of art, she was creating art every day with every child by guiding them to discover their ever-evolving gifts, talents, and skills. And, if she was listening, talking, and observing her fellow educators, her impact could be even more empowering. By week three, she was actively collaborating with her fellow teachers by designing handouts that explained the step-by-step instructions for each assignment – matching varying skill-level students to collaborate on the art activity. Fran embraced the value of the “we’re partners” attitude she witnessed between the children and the cross-generational guidance with her peers. Becoming a collaborator, in its most positive definition, is the greatest mind/action change Fran made as a woman, an educator, and an artist.
Fran continued her classroom teaching journey in Northglenn, Colorado. Here she taught high school photography and junior high Speech & Drama. As the Opening Night performance of her first junior high production came close, her Principal told her: “I’ve never seen a junior high kid doing anything worthwhile, and the kids at this school are the worst. I’ll be there tomorrow night.“ After the young actor’s beautiful performance, Fran was never denied any support – moral or financial at the school. In 1992, Fran’s teaching experience was transformed when she applied for and was awarded an Art for Social Change Grant.
From Denver, Fran headed to New York City. Starting in 1994 Fran was the Education Director for the Women’s Project (WP) and has been Education Coordinator at the prestigious Atlantic Theater Company since 1995. Under her direction, the WP program grew from two schools in 1995 to 80 schools by 2008. Fran’s work and that of the WP Teaching-Artists in her charge were equally successful with children and young people, third grade to seniors in high school; with gifted and at At-Risk youth in Teen Pregnancy and incarcerated youth programs. The Atlantic’s Arts Education programs continue to expand each school year. Since 2006, she has volunteered to lead playwriting/performance workshops in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Gbanga City, Liberia. In 2008, Fran created fran tarr productions LLC, dedicated to “Giving voice to teens surviving chaos and conflict.”
Breaking Walls was inspired when Fran’s documentaries showcased young Blacks in Brooklyn and Muslims in Bethlehem struggling against social unrest and intolerance. “The world sees us as losers and outcasts,” the young cast reported. “We showed that we are extraordinary. Not just because we wrote powerfully or created a beautiful performance, we became friends when no one believed we could. We want to continue building this bridge with every kid, everywhere, no matter their race, religion, or attitude.” Under Fran’s direction, Breaking Walls is dedicated to bringing their vision to its rightful place on the world stage.
Breaking Walls believes that the imagination, ideals, considerable energies, and vision of youth are essential for the continuing development of their communities and our global family. During the two weeks of the Breaking Walls Summit, young people from around the globe engage in a Creative Activist Lab, a full-day community service project, and work with the Health & Wellness team. Breaking Walls also offers Community-Based Retreats that unite diverse local groups to collaborate as one united creative community. Additionally, it explores Virtual Artist Cooperatives, which encompass a range of artistic disciplines while building trust and cross-cultural connections in a virtual world. Furthermore, Arts Education In-School Workshops are conducted with students and educators.
Fran has received honors and awards ranging from the Art Institute of Chicago – “Works on Paper” Invitation Only Show; the Colorado Department of Education Arts & Prevention Grant; a Fulbright Teacher Exchange Fellowship; New York’s Women’s Agenda Women of the Future; Harlem International Film Festival Best Youth Film “brooklyn bridges: to bethlehem & back”; Creative Visions Foundation Recognized as a Creative Activist; Movement for the Culture of Peace; James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation Outstanding NGO Award; SXSW Film Festival 2019 Community Service Grant Award; and a Finalist for the Exceptional Women of Peace Award in 2025.
