Last week I was lucky to be able to moderate two panels on Social Justice in Art Education at Art21’s very intriguing conference, Creative Chemistries Radical Practice for Art + Education. The conversations included artists, teachers, policy people, and community organizers all curious about the intersections between art and education. Check out Art21’s education resources for more information and read this write up on Hyperallergic.
I had the pleasure of joining some very smart arts educators from Harvard’s Arts in Education Program for a short conversation about the social responsibility of arts educators on a Continuing the Conversation google hangout that was recorded for posterity.
On December 8, 2014, CCNY’s Art Education Program held a collaborative brainstorming session to develop strategies to teach art about the #BlackLivesMatter movement. My reflections on the event were posted on Harvard’s Arts in Education Continuing the Conversation blog.
The wonderful arts educators in the Art Education program at the Joan Mitchell Foundation gave out copies of Social Justice Art to all of their teaching artists for their holiday gift. Thanks guys!
I was thrilled to return to the Universidad de Jaén in Andulucía, Spain for a wonderful session about Social Justice Art Education. The graduate students in art, music, theater, and dance education asked provocative questions and entertained my broken Spanish with grace and humor.
Hot off the presses, Social Justice Art: A Framework for Activist Art Pedagogy. Stay tuned for book events.
Just received word that my upcoming book is now available for pre-ordering via the Harvard Education Press or Amazon–or better yet, your local bookstore can order it. More info to follow regarding book launch events once it hits the shelves on November 12.
I was delighted to participate in the Museum of Art and Design‘s professional development workshop for NYC teachers working in ALternative Learning Centers. I started my keynote on “Art and Transformative Education” with a drawing activity and ended with reflections on how art can provide a space for conversations about violence, racism, and inequality that can motivate young people to action. It was inspiring to hear the passion these committed educators have for their students.
Had so much fun learning from the very talented and creative teaching artists at the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program during a workshop I led on “Social Justice Art Education” on February 25, 2014. This tremendous group works with youth groups all over the city and had fantastic insights on what it means to be working artist-teachers trying to empower–not just direct–young people.
Back in lively Jaén, Spain for another lecture on Art, Community, Education, and Justice at the Universidad de Jaén. This time we created zines to explore concepts of critical pedagogy, empowering learners, and collaboration in social justice art education. With a few breaks for café con leche in between, we had provocative conversations about Roma audiences, the role of music in community building, and the possibilities of using visual art even if you’re “not an artist.”