Artists in the World

Uriahn's art car. If you hadn't noticed, that's a tiny little camera at the very top that can record the journey of the car. Uriahn is in Pre K.

As my students and I are finishing up a year of Art Enrichment, and looking back on what we have done, I notice that the units I've taught relate to each other. A few blog posts ago I reflected on how learning can be connected with life and how we, as educators, can more fully engage students in that process. The Community Art Collaborative program (which I'm a part of) has an annual festival to bring students from around  the city together and exhibit their artwork. As I am preparing the artwork I'm noticing a common theme: the artist in the 'real' world. Each unit connects to the roles of the artist within our society. When we made our Art Cars, we were looking at the artist as the inventor; when the K-1st grade students put their relief sculptures together into one giant colorful sculpture, we identified the artist as a collaborator; when we made a collage about our imagined journey flying over Baltimore we became an artist that told stories through pictures; and students in the project Speak Out, advocated for themselves as valued individuals. These students became the artist as an advocate. 

Perhaps it is through this lens that we can identify the artist as having specific responsibilities within our current society. By giving a purpose and real life connection to the art problems we present to our students, we can validate the arts as meaningful to our young people both now and as they move forward into their adult lives and take on roles in our society.