This issue introduces various ways to address advocacy through different lenses, ranging from cultural perspectives to embracing mistakes and self-expression. Young students use art and creative thinking skills to connect with themselves and the world around them, elementary students turn mistakes like rips and smudges into beautiful works of art, middle-school students make clay puzzle pieces with symbolic objects representing their interests, high-school students create detailed fabric portraits of someone they look up to, and more.
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In this issue, we introduce various ways to address advocacy through multiple lenses. What it looks like in our art room will range on how we address topics or issues such as cultural perspectives, equity, diversity, identity, art appreciation, embracing mistakes, and creating an inclusive curriculum. Designing an Advocacy Toolkit is an effective way to make all student voices heard. Reading this issue is a great start!
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Advocating for early learners is my life’s work and everyday honor. In any space, I find myself constantly elevating their voices as valuable, driven, and as capable as any other learner. While it is often trivialized, the insight and depth our youngest students bring to learning is something even PhDs should take note of. The reward of teaching them something for the first time is seeing them make connections to learning, to the world, and to themselves, laying the groundwork for a creative-minded life.
While touring the campus of my new school, I was introduced to my assistant principal, who immediately made an intriguing proposal to me: “You should create an altar with your students for Muertos Fest.” As the new art teacher, I was unsure of how to respond. I understood that undertaking the creation of an altar would be a large commitment, while at the same time, I was aware that it would be an opportunity for our school community to come together to remember those we lost.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when a student throws away a perfectly good piece of paper because it has a small rip, wrinkle, smudge, hole, or even a scribble. A few years ago, I happened across Barney Saltzberg’s book, Beautiful Oops! (Workman Publishing Company, 2010). I knew it would be perfect to read to my students at the beginning of the school year and make the point that a mistake is not the end, but an opportunity.
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I was interested in teaching my middle-school art students diversified art history lessons about the work of a woman in the arts who was important in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Elizabeth Murray (1940–2007) provided an excellent example. I had met Murray when I was a college student, and when her colorful, dynamic work was just beginning to be recognized in New York galleries.
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We all have many layers—some of them everyone can see, while others are hidden from the world. Often without much thought, our attitudes, interests, and actions are shaped by who we are at any given moment. Yet, all of these layers come together to make us who we are. As an art teacher, I only get to see a tiny bit of my students’ lives. I get to know them only in the context of school and, more specifically, my art room. For this reason, I love working on symbolic self-portraits with them.
This project was challenging and my students loved it. I introduced them to the contemporary textile artist (and former art teacher) Bisa Butler, who tells the story of African Americans in American history. Some of the figures are unknown, while others are prominent. Butler creates intricate and vibrant portraits of everyday African Americans and gives the voices using bold and colorful patterned fabric.
Starting the course with this project ensured students’ comfort level and introduced them to the transformative power of photography. I wanted to emphasize the importance of finding joy in everyday life, whether or not you share it with others. Through our initial reading and discussion, I discovered that students were more receptive to the potential impact of art on their lives, much in the same way they appreciate the influence of their favorite music.
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Through art, we can communicate with people from all over the world. Stories can be told, feelings expressed, and an understanding of other artists and their work can be established without learning other languages. With this in mind, I decided to reach out to a school in Ukraine so that my students could learn about their peers through their artwork.
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Artist Shinique Smith creates monumental clothing sculptures, abstract paintings with calligraphy and collage, installations, videos, and performances that represent the intersection of personal history and cultural experiences, revealing connections across time, place, race, and gender to suggest a brighter future.
