“Meet the Artist” – the Q&A series featuring the Teaching Artists of Arts For All – continues with AFA Intern Franny Daleo-Clark (University of Vermont ’26). Interviewed by Franny in the Spring of 2025, “Meet the Artist” allows our Teaching Artists to share their individual backgrounds and stories about art in their life.
First, let’s get to know the interviewer as Franny shares how important art has been to her throughout her life.
Q: Who are you?
Franny: My name is Franny Daleo-Clark and I am an intern with Arts For All, a junior in college, and an artist. I am originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, and currently I go to the University of Vermont and study studio art and psychology.
Q: How did you first get involved in your specific discipline of art?
Franny: I’m interested in arts in a general sense, so it is quite hard to answer only looking at one specific discipline! I definitely consider myself more of an interdisciplinary artist. I started dancing when I was around four years old, fascinated by ballet, and have been dancing ever since! As far as visual arts, I took classes growing up in school, but actually did not start considering myself an artist in that regard until college. I took an introductory level art class and fell back in love with studio art. I also work in the theater’s costume shop, so I have developed a lot of sewing skills and now mainly do textile based art, but still love to simply express myself with scrapbooking and collage.
Q: What role did the arts play in your upbringing?
Franny: My parents were both artists! My mom was a dancer for many years, and my dad is a musician who plays and teaches violin professionally, as well as conducting orchestra. My sister was also very involved in theater and we both were in choir and dance, so growing up I was kind of surrounded by performing arts. I would consider myself quite a shy person, so I was always looking for ways to express myself a little more visually and tended to turn to my scrapbooks/art journals, which is a habit I still do! My art journals are some of my most prized possessions.
Q: What is your educational background?
Franny: I am a junior in college at UVM, double majoring in Studio Art and Psychological Science. In the future, I hope to go to graduate school to study art therapy and get my Master’s Degree!
Q: What drew you to Arts For All?
Franny: Currently, I’m doing a semester in the city program with my school called Arts in Action. Part of the program is participating in an arts-related internship, and I found Arts For All in my internship search. Arts For All’s mission and values drew me in; I wanted to contribute to an organization that fosters self-confidence, self-expression, teamwork, resilience, and creativity in kids! I am so grateful to be able to share creative arts opportunities with youth in the community through Arts For All.
Q: Do you have any favorite in-classroom moments working with students?
Franny: So far as an intern working in classrooms with Arts For All, my favorite moment has been when at the end of a few classes, the students “cool down” after artmaking. In one residency with a teaching artist, the students have a ritual in which they pretend to put a crown on their heads and say, “I did it! I am proud of myself.” This part of class fills me with joy and makes me so proud of the students.
Q: What does art mean to you?
Franny: Art is for everyone! I believe that every human being is an artist. There is no one right or wrong way to create, but everyone deserves an artistic outlet to express themselves. I think art is so deeply interwoven in daily life in visible and invisible ways and we should all have the freedom to connect with and through artistic practices.
