Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of others. How can the power of art be used to both express and explore empathy? To explore the concept of empathy, there is no better resource than Brené Brown, a well-respected research professor at the University of Houston who has worked for decades studying, writing about, and presenting on empathy, courage, vulnerability, and shame.
In a short video, Brown describes four key steps to showing empathy: “perspective taking or putting yourself in someone’s shoes, staying out of judgment and listening, recognizing emotion in another person that you have maybe felt before, and communicating that you recognize that emotion.”
Resources for Teachers and Students
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In “The Quest for Empathy in Art Education” (page 8), Jane Montero gives a broader overview of empathy in art than I have space for here. My focus in this letter has been to provide useful and meaningful resources for teachers and students.
Our studio lessons this month include “Growing Kindness Gardens” by Julia Hovanec (p. 32), in which early childhood students paint miniature gardens after reading Sophie Beer’s book Kindness Makes Us Strong.
At the elementary level, in “Wish Leaves” by Catherine and Pam Golden (p. 36), students write meaningful messages on handmade leaves, honoring the Celtic tradition of tying pieces of cloth as wishes on trees.
Melody Weintraub’s middle-school lesson “Talk with the Hand” (p. 34) connects wordplay with clay based on phrases or idioms that use the word hand.
In Cristina Pinton’s high-school lesson “Making a Scene” (p. 29), students stage theatrical photographs like scenes from a thriller or mystery, full of clues and details of emotionally rich, complex stories.
How will you and your students explore and express empathy through art?
Art teachers encourage students to explore and express empathy. High-school students construct narrative photographs that express an emotional mood, middle-school students design personal map compositions inspired by a meaningful place, elementary students share an important message about human rights through collage, young students create vibrant canvas paintings inspired by artist Jeff Hanson, and more.
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