The ongoing impacts of intensifying “teacher proof” curricula and educational surveillance—both internally and externally imposed—continue to place increasing pressure on educators to narrow their pedagogical goals to measurable outcomes (see Ball, 2003; Benedict, 2012; Page, 2017). These dynamics are not confined to a single context but reflect global policy trends that privilege standardization, accountability, and efficiency. Despite this, and against a backdrop of rapid social, cultural, and political change, music educators face the challenge of designing learning environments that are simultaneously artistic, relational, and critically engaged. Project-Based Teaching and Learning (PBTL) offers one promising way forward, positioning music-making not as a linear sequence of prescribed skills to acquire but as a fluid, collaborative process that supports students in using their musical understandings to connect with and act in the world. In this theoretically-driven presentation, we introduce PBTL as a framework for cultivating purposeful artistry in music classrooms, situating it in dialogue with a range of educational perspectives. From Dewey (1916, 1938), we lean upon the conception of projects as rooted in authentic experience. From Biesta (2022), we consider how “pointing” within arts education can open complex ways of encountering the world. From Freire (1970), we borrow emancipatory notions of the potential of critically engaged work by and alongside students. We also borrow from Rodgers and Raider-Roth (2006), building upon the concepts of presence and relational trust among educational stakeholders. Together, these perspectives inform our understanding of PBTL as an educational endeavor that foregrounds critical, relational, and artistic approaches that engage both curiosity and imagination. Furthermore, we highlight the underlying principles of PBTL—its focus on engaging with the world, cyclical nature, and reliance on teacher-student relationships—and consider how these principles can reshape the purposes and practices of music educators. Through examples and vignettes from a range of music education contexts, we illustrate how PBTL can reimagine classrooms as spaces of co-creation, inquiry, creativity, and reflection. In sharing both theoretical grounding and practical applications, we show how PBTL might inform teacher preparation and professional practice on a global stage. We argue that when enacted with care and responsiveness, PBTL can not only foster creativity and critical thinking but can also enable educators to reclaim agency, presence, and purpose in their teaching. In this session, we invite discussion that considers how project-based approaches might open new possibilities for music education in our contemporary moment.