Rapp, Joanne

Joanne Rapp, art educator, art gallery owner, philanthropist, and arts advocate moved to Arizona in 1962 with her husband James, an architecture professor at Arizona State University (ASU). She initially worked as a substitute art teacher for the Scottsdale School system. Within a year, she became the art teacher at Crockett Elementary School in Phoenix, where she was employed for ten years.

Her art curriculum for grades 1 through 8 utilized puppetry. She created a progressive program introducing increasingly complex activities. Beginning with finger puppets, the lessons advanced to making stages for hand, wired and shadow puppets. This culminated with student classroom performances for the lower grades. She also collaborated on the music department’s performances and coordinated the program printmaking.

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