Art & Community : A High School Art Curriculum, Unit 3

Daily Lesson Planning – 50 Minute Classes Unit: 3 1: Art & Community Overview

2: Research

Discussion on Community Art

Research Community art projects and local art councils

Assignment Overview Sheet

Delegate Group Work

Committee appointments/timeli ne 6: Design of preliminary final artworks and Promotional Materials

Title: Art & Community Activism 3: Research and Permit

4 : Research and Permit

Guest Speaker (local public artist/art representative) Location Scoping if available, view public art

Review Assignment Sheet 7: Design of preliminary final artworks and Promotional Materials

5: Guest Speaker/Location Scoping

8: Design of preliminary final artworks and Promotional Materials

Small group critique (formative assessment)

9: Final Design decision and Materials acquisition

10: Final Design decision and Materials acquisition

Small group critique (formative assessment)

Class meeting with teacher

11: Final Design

12: Final Design

13: Final Design

14: Final Design

15: Final Design

Promotion of final artwork continues

Promotion of final artwork continues

Promotion of final artwork continues

Promotion of final artwork continues

Promotion of final artwork continues

Small group critique (formative assessment)

Unveiling plan

Unveiling plan

Unveiling plan Class meeting with teacher

16: Creation

17: Creation

18: Creation

Small group critique (formative assessment) 19: Unveiling Night

Project work day, 6 hour field trip

Project work day, 6 hour field trip Promotion of final artwork continues

Artist statement and plan for presentation/unveil ing finalized.

Discussion and Reflection

Promotion of final artwork continues

Finalize project, 6 hour field trip additional hours may be taken outside of school.

Promotion of final artwork continues

Process work Due.

20: Final Discussion

Final Reflections Due

Art & Community: How Students Can Use Their Passion and Power to Discover Themselves and Civically Engage with the World Unit 3: Art and Community Activism Unit 3, Art and Community Activism, is a final unit that allows students to work collaboratively as a class or in small groups, and create art projects that are created and/or displayed publicly.

This unit will use a lattice model curriculum, and the students will be in charge of the planning, research and selection of social issue, media, contacting and permits for each project, assigning each role the students will play, and conveying a deeper meaning and awareness through their visual art. The students will need to research a regional social justice issue or community need in order to raise awareness or provide a service using visual art, outside of the school and possibly outside of their local community, while working collaboratively from start to finish. The culmination of the unit will be a press release to local media, as well as a field trip to view the various art project or projects in person. The students will continue to build upon their communication skills, artistic skills and community activism, and discover how to solve various issues dealing with public art forms.

Art & Community Activism Creating Public Art for Awareness or Community Need A Large-Scale Final Project

Objective Given a choice of media, multiple resources, and working in a large group, students will research issues that relate to their local community and work as a collaborative and cooperative group to create a large-scale artwork, such as a mural or sculpture, that will be displayed publicly. There will be a research and permit component as the artwork location will be displayed locally outside of the school, but within the town that the school is located. The work will involve technical skill students have obtained in both digital and traditional media, through the conception, design and execution of the final work process. The final work will convey a meaningful message that involves or speaks to their community, as well as utilize the elements and principles of design that contributes to the visual connotations of the piece, and also provides equal representation among each of the students within the group.

Concepts In this unit, you will be exploring the following concepts through the conception, design and creation of the final artwork. These concepts deal with identity, power and voice within a community, and how artwork can communicate and shape these ideas. When creating you’re the artwork, refer to the following concepts when choosing visual and textual elements.

• Communicative design in large scale artwork that can convey visual messages within the details as well as on a broader scale.

• Cultural symbols that relate to the overall theme as well as the culture of the community where the artwork is displayed.

• Imagery that can be used both to convey a message and to provide a service, whether through artistic or practical interaction, to provide multiple levels to the function of community art.

• Artwork can both create awareness of an issue and provide a persuasive stance to the audience.

Overview The next four weeks of class will be dedicated to conceiving, designing and creating a largescale artwork that will convey a message that relates to a community social justice issue and/or provides a service to the community to create a change. Research into public art groups, agendas, and obtaining permits and funding for large-scale public artworks will be included, and each student must take on a role within the group to complete each aspect of these tasks.

Roles and final decisions will be determined democratically, and smaller committees may be delegated in order to complete aspects in a more timely manner. Through research and a design process, students will each submit proposals for the final artwork design and then adjust the design so that each student has an equal voice within the final piece. The artwork will then be created collaboratively over three 6-hour field trip days. The project will include feedback sessions in the form of group critiques and peer reviews conducted weekly. This project will also give you examples of community art projects and present you with a guest speaker that will discuss the process of working on a community art project, as well as designing and creating artwork as a group. This project will end with a public viewing event, that will be promoted through social media, a public mailing as well as a press release. A calendar is provided for your reference on the timeline of weekly mini-critiques, the guest speaker window, class discussion days, etc. You are expected to work diligently throughout the next four weeks in order to complete the required tasks. Rubrics for group and individual assessment criteria that need to be met during this project are provided as well. Reference these sheets, along with your unit calendar, often to make sure you and your group stay on task.

There are five major components to this project: Research and Permits Design Creation Presentation and Discussions Promotion and Final Reflections

Research & Permit Component Research The class will research as a group into the public artwork of the local community, including existing groups, agenda, permits and paperwork needed, available locations for the artwork, as

well as community need both in social justice issues as well as services. The group will work as a team. The class will begin by looking at existing public artwork projects historically and contemporary, as well as those that already exist within their chosen community. Research should be included in process journals and shared with your group when beginning your group’s organization and project ideas. You should look for the following when viewing the websites: 1.

What issues do the community projects address? a. Come up with ideas both thematically that create awareness for an issue and/or ideas that address a community need that relates to the function of the piece – is it just aesthetically pleasing or does it provide a service (fountain, shelter, recycling facility, etc.) b. How does the public interact with the project? Is it primarily for viewing or can it be touched, changed, heard, smelled?

2.

What type of work is created? Is it 2D, 3D, and what materials are used? a. Why do you think these materials were chosen and how do they not only relate to the chosen theme but also to the environment in which they are displayed?

3.

Who is the audience and how have the artworks created change? a. What lasting effects have the artworks had on the community and who are the members of the community? How was the artwork talked about or promoted?

Website examples are below: https://www.socialworkdegreeguide.com/25-most-amazing-community-arts-projects/ https://caringmagazine.org/create-beauty-spread-good/ https://www.pps.org/article/artsprojects https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/community-art https://www.associationforpublicart.org/what-is-public-art/ http://www.publicartinpublicplaces.info/ https://www.enjoyillinois.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/public-art-in-illinois/ https://www.aurora-il.org/329/Public-Art-Commission https://www.stcharlesartscouncil.org/ http://www.chicagopublicartgroup.org/ https://www.waterstreetstudios.org/

Group speakers, site visits and other preliminary work will be involved as well, and appointment of subgroup committees may be necessary. These committees will take on a portion of the work outside of and in addition to the main scope of design and creation that happens within the classroom, as well as the final production of the project. Subgroup committees can include: • Leadership committee, including President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary • Site scouting, Permit and Paperwork Research and Submission committee • Material and Tool Acquisition committee • Promotional Material Design and Distribution committee All committees will operate on either a volunteer or nomination basis, and members and roles will be decided democratically. Detailed descriptions will be provided to the students for each of the committees and roles so that students may choose those they are best suited for.

Permits The class will work, either as a whole or through the appointment of a committee, on obtaining multiple available locations, paperwork and permits needed in order to propose and execute a final public artwork. The teacher will work with the students on obtaining the necessary permissions and will help draft letters of intent to private building owners, as needed. In the case that permission is not obtained or a local community does not grant permission, students will work on proposals for artworks to be created within the school, which will be addressed to the principal and/or administration as necessary. The final location of the artwork will have some influence over the chosen issue/topic or function of the artwork, related to the physical limitations, audience and permanence of display. Locations and permits needed will be addressed first, so that students may narrow the focus of their themes and designs.

Design Component Designing Artworks Prior to designing, students will democratically narrow down three locations for their final artwork to be created and displayed. Using these locations, the students will split into three groups to work collaboratively on a final design, who will also decide on the media choice and functionality of the design, if desired. Designing artworks will involve individual brainstorming and sketch work of the final design, and subgroups will meet six times over the first three weeks of the lesson to critique their designs. Students must take into consideration the previous artwork made within the class, where students strengths lie as a whole, and also incorporate within sections of the artwork where students will be working. After all preliminary designs are discussed, the subgroups will vote on their best design and submit to the class to be decided upon for the final design. After the final location is determined, the group that

designed for their particular location will be the chosen design. The final design will be critiqued in class as a group in the final meeting prior to the beginning of the creation of the artwork and will be adjusted as necessary. Emphasis will be placed on designs that work thematically, functionally and also involve aspects that reflect both the points of view of each student as well as the community in which they live.

Creation Component Creation of this project requires an initial final design created digitally from the final chosen sketch, after any proposed changes from the full group. This will be made within a subgroup of the class that is appointed through a nomination or volunteer process. Once the final design is created, the class will appoint sections of the artwork to be completed and create a timeline that spans the 3 days or 18 hours of work time allotted. The class will also determine if any of the artwork can be created within the classroom prior to installation. The final artworks can include any of the mediums used in the previous two units – Drawing, painting, photography, sculpture or ceramics, etc. Additional media for three dimensional artworks, such as wood, metal or any techniques involved with assembly of those materials will be addressed and assessed as necessary. Materials and tools will be provided but a list of necessary materials and tools must be created and obtained by the students prior to the start of the creation component.

Presentation & Discussions Component Presentation Field Trip The final exhibition of the project will be a public unveiling, scheduled on a day or evening outside of school hours. The exhibition will include the reading of a group artist statement by one of the design leaders, and provide an opportunity for students to reflect upon their final artwork and field questions from friends, family and members of the community. The presentation will be promoted prior to the chosen day of unveiling, via printed material distribution, social media posts as well as a press release to local media outlets.

Discussions Discussions and meetings will occur throughout the project and participation is expected from every student in the class. Meetings will include whole class discussion and appointment of subgroups, organization and timeline planning, subgroup meetings that involve smaller groups’ planning, design and paperwork duties, and weekly follow up meetings with the teacher. Guest

speaker visits will also facilitate discussions with the class and provide an opportunity for all students to voice any concerns or questions they have about the project.

Weekly Reflection Meetings The class will meet with the teacher once a week to discuss their research about the locations, social issues, services and design elements that will be used in their final artwork. Students will be asked to show their process work within their journals and provide detailed ways of how their artwork designs can incorporate the entire class throughout the design and creation processes. New technical skills or techniques can also be researched for this project if they are relevant and will be incorporated into the creation of the project artworks. Weekly teacher meetings are a chance for groups to express concerns or issues and ask questions about the project. The class will work cooperatively to complete the artworks required for the project. All process work will be collected at the end of the unit.

Promotion and Final Reflection Component Promotion Students will be asked to create promotional materials throughout the project, as well as engage with the community to promote their project via social media and write up and send out a press release to local media outlets. A subgroup may be appointed at the beginning of the project to be in charge of promotion, and will include the design and active involvement in the following, in addition to their project research, design and creation duties: • Design and printing of postcards, posters, flyers and/or other printed materials to be distributed around the school and community. • Social media posts that are appropriate for school policies, that include text and image designed promotions, images from the process and creation of the final artwork, students working on the project, and information about the unveiling of the final work. • A written press release that details the theme, process and description of the final artwork as well as information on the public unveiling. This will also be submitted to local news media outlets.

Final Reflection Each student will be required to submit a final reflection paper after the public unveiling, on the last day of the project. It will be guided by a reflection questionnaire worksheet, and ask students to discuss the project from start to finish, reflect on their individual role and contributions and what they did well, as well as an opportunity to discuss alternatives or changes they would have made to their aspect of the project. This will also involve discussion of making artwork as part of a group collaborative, and the effects it has had or may have on the community in general. It will also connect the previous two units to the final project, and how working on identity and social justice themed artwork informed the process, meaning and skills within the last project.

The following is a guideline for the Final Reflection: 1.

Introduction a. An overview of the artworks you created over the course of the semester, and how they related to and informed the final project. b. An overview of the concepts and/or skills you learned over the semester and how they were used within the scope of the final project, from process to finish. c. Additional skills you gained outside the field of art, including planning, preparation and community involvement.

2.

Main Reflection a. Discuss connections between content, skills, and artworks you created in units 1 and 2, and in unit 3, also discuss how collaboration informed the final work compared with individually created projects. b. Discuss how your process work, specifically your research, preliminary designs and sketches and other work in your process journals have helped inform your final artworks in all units. c. Discuss the critique and reflection processes used in the class and how they helped (or didn’t) when reviewing your artwork. d. Discuss how creating artwork in a group setting differed from working individually.

3.

Conclusion a. Review connections made between previous units and the final project. b. Discuss how you may utilize the concepts, content, and skills from this class in the future, specifically how you may use art to inform other areas of your life. You may also discuss how you identify yourself and/or your role in the community and how that has changed over the semester. c. Discuss areas of the class you feel could be improved upon or enhanced based on your own experiences included in the ‘Main Reflection’ section.

Group Assessment Project: Score: _____ /100

Scoring Research & Permit Conducted research on topic chosen Demonstrated the use of research and resources in the creation of the artwork Created a proposal for permits that demonstrated artist influences, the group resources and plan of execution Design Component Demonstrated the use of the elements and principles in art when designing Demonstrated meaningful symbolic representations on chosen topic Demonstrated a high quality of execution of design Creation Component Created a large scale artwork in a public space Demonstrated formal qualities in the final artwork Created a complete, engaging and impactful statement artwork Presentation & Discussions Engaged in class discussion regarding the project introduction, presentation and during in-progress critiques Presented in-progress and finished images of the artwork during critique Actively worked to make changes and adjustments to the work as needed Promotion & Final Reflection Actively participated in the promotion of the artwork unveiling on social media, traditional materials and mailing and press release Actively participated in organizing, promoting and attending the unveiling night Reflected on the process, the completed artwork, and how it was working collaboratively in a group.

Poor 1

Needs Improvement 2

Average 3

Good 4

Mastery 5

Individual Assessment Student: Project: Score: _____/50

Peer Assessment Peer Name: Project: Score:_____/50

Individual Assessment Project: Score: _____ /100

Scoring Research & Permit Worked collaboratively with peers in the group Assisted in research with peers to enhance the statement about the final artwork Actively participated in chosen committee to support the process of research, proposal and permits Design Component Demonstrated the use of the elements and principles in art when designing Demonstrated meaningful symbolic representations on chosen topic within individual design work Demonstrated a high quality of execution of design Creation Component Actively participated in support of or direct acquisition of materials needed for final artwork Demonstrated formal qualities in the final artwork Participated in the final creation of a complete, engaging and impactful statement artwork Presentation & Discussions Engaged in class discussion regarding the project introduction, presentation and during in-progress critiques Helped to present images of in-progress artwork during presentation and critiques Worked to cooperate with the group to make changes and adjustments to the work as needed Promotion & Final Reflection Actively participated in the promotion of the artwork unveiling on social media, traditional materials and mailing and press release Actively participated in organizing, promoting and attending the unveiling night Completed and submitted a self-reflection on the process, complete artwork and working within a group to complete art

Poor 1

Needs Improvement 2

Average 3

Good 4

Mastery 5

Individual Assessment Student: Project: Score: _____/50

Peer Assessment Peer Name: Project: Score:_____/50