The video I found is a TedTalk from students of the Al Yasmina Academy that talks about how every person is an artist just by the merit of being themselves and discusses the importance of self-expression. Although there is not necessarily an inherent need to respond – this video absolutely could be a starting point in creating a discussion and activity for students. Because this video is done by other young people and is also only about ten minutes it makes it more ideal to show to the age group that we had decided on of children grades 6-8 and in general makes it more accessible. Young people seeing someone only a few years older than them talking about this topic creates a feeling of “Wait, I can do that too.” that makes the video much more approachable. Some students may make notes, but I think this video is best suited to a discussion and subsequent activity.
The activity should focus on disconnecting the concept for students that art is something that only people in museums are good at, and then reaffirming that anyone can be an artist as long as they are creating. The students will all take a piece of 8×11 white paper, then close their eyes and try and draw a given topic. After all the students have their creations, the class will have a discussion of what they were trying to do. Likely, students will say they were trying to make the subject as realistic as possible, or as close to the topic as possible. We will then do the activity again, this time with no given topic and the students being free to draw whatever does or does not come to mind. After this activity, we will discuss what felt different about having a subject to draw and perimeters to follow versus just being free to follow whatever your mind wanted. Through this activity, we are reinforcing the concepts of the video that art is not meant to be in rigid forms, and that there is no pressure for perfection or accuracy in self-expression. This activity also requires very little work on the side of the educator, with all they need to do being providing paper and crayons for students to draw on, managing timing and when to close the eyes, and helping facilitate the discussion afterwards. Overall, this activity can be a fun, on-hand, and attainable way to help students reconstruct their misconceptions about creating art and being artists.
Hey Caprim. This is awesome! I think art is such an important skill for kids to be able to embrace and think openly about. It is a tool of self expression, and most students enjoy it. There are always going to be those kids who don’t believe themselves to be a good artist and this is a fantastic way of showing them that they might have some hidden talent. WOuld definitely use this in my classroom!