The Art of Education University has a short but valuable guide on using art education to facilitate students engaging with social justice. In a nutshell:
- Start by inspiring students with a compelling example.
- Ask them to brainstorm issues that are important to them.
- Do some inquiry into their causes on Social Media.
- Send your students off to make their own art to represent/support their cause.
- Have your share their work on social media (the article has advice for negativity/privacy issues) and watch your students witness their impact.
I believe its important learn alongside my students and to lead by example. Below is an infographic that I recently made and shared on social media. The project was inspired by a conversation that happened during the last class of the Anti-Racism Summer Institute. We had been discussing how considering the numbers of bodies found at Residential Schools, in relation to the number still to search, drastically changed one’s perspective. The online response to this infographic has been unexpected and overwhelming(ly positive).
See it on Instagram. See it on Facebook.
References:
Hoeve, L. T. (2021, June 28). Teach Your Students to Use Art as a Tool for Social Advocacy. The Art of Education University. https://theartofeducation.edu/2016/06/20/june-art-tool-social-advocacy/.
Ulrich, L. (2021). Residential School Project [Infographic]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRpzfAzrhax