Art educators are teachers, learners, community connectors, and creative dreamers. Bringing novel experiences to students is part of our daily work, and we encourage them to take risks, try new things, and share their ideas. We must also embody this adventurous spirit when advocating for the value of art in our communities.
One powerful way to advocate for your art program is by seeking opportunities that increase the visibility of art-making experiences within the school community. Our two most successful outdoor projects involved unconventional modes of making. Sharing student-created public art with families, neighbors, and the larger community offers a daily visual reminder that art can improve our lives.
For one meaningful project designed to help students better understand the land we live on and the people who first lived here, they designed words and images that were translated into permanent vinyl decals for our front doors. Everyone who arrives at our school immediately connects to this artwork, and visual art becomes an essential welcoming tool. Text and images combine to broaden expectations of what art can be and where it can exist.
We activated the play areas outside our school by painting the sidewalk, creating and installing bold fence panels, and incorporating visual play incentives. When students step off the bus, they enter a colorful world, immersing themselves in the possibilities of arts programming.
Small local grants have allowed our school to incorporate relevant, varied, and novel experiences for student artists. Art classroom budgets are often limited, and finding alternative funding not only stretches that budget but also cultivates new ideas and collaborations.
Students articulated a need for more color outside and a need for increased safety along the sidewalk. Emphasizing the power of art, we connected with neighbors and school families to advocate for a local community grant that supported safe and caring communities. This was not an art-specific grant, yet we knew that communities benefit from artwork in many ways. Through the purchase of brushes, rollers and paint, we were able to draw attention to the sidewalk and remind drivers of the presence of pedestrians.
The grant application notes that “I look for opportunities to connect my middle-school art students with the world outside our studio. We are a place for students to find their voice, learn to navigate big questions about the world, and develop greater aspirations for themselves and society… We are keen to pursue this grant to make our community safer and more colorful.”
Engaging with the work and practices of local artists is a powerful motivator for students and educators. These connections provide numerous benefits, including the celebration of diverse artists, highlighting emerging artists, creating authentic audiences for student art, and deepening art appreciation and histories. Viewing and interacting with artworks and artists is a valuable experience for students, and local emerging artists may be more inclined to share their process, ideas, and artworks more readily with enthusiastic learners.
Developing a mural alongside local artist Mike Hooves, students were invited into a process of ideation, creation, and iteration. Learning about this artist’s style, testing various media, simplifying images, and applying learning to a final contribution empowered students to see themselves as artists.
Art educators help to cultivate an inclusive and imaginative world for their students. When teachers and students play and take responsible risks, strong creative communities and connections emerge. Bridging the gap between school and the world, this advocacy speaks to the essential presence of art in everyday life.
By embracing unconventional opportunities such as outdoor projects, students are supported to recognize the power of their work in transforming spaces and perceptions. Securing community grants further enhances this impact, funding meaningful contributions while developing essential skills. And through collaboration with local artists, students encounter diverse art forms, processes, and people.
Advocating for arts learning can take many forms, and it helps establish opportunities for students to view themselves as part of a broader creative dialogue.
Zoey Graf is a visual arts educator at Calgary Girls Charter School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Zoey.Graf@mycgcs.ca
Art teachers share new and exciting art-making experiences in and outside the art room. Young students collaborate to paint a hanging cardboard butterfly installation, elementary students use everyday objects to create illuminating bookshelf dioramas, middle-school students use 3D-scanning technology to print lifelike portraits, high-school students address contemporary issues while creating in an outdoor classroom, and more.
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