Murals Online: Public Art During Quarantine

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During the pandemic, our Music and Media programs pivoted seamlessly online because the tools and outputs for those classes were already digital. Adapting the production of traditional Murals during quarantine was more tricky.

For this school year, we are providing all remote options for our Murals program as well by offering digital outputs as alternatives to traditional murals. Each option offers public art for the digital age.

Identity Design Class

In this class, students explore the power of symbolism to communicate self-identity. Understanding identity helps students clarify purpose and how they connect with each other. Each session builds towards two principal outputs. First, students develop a personal logo/brand/visual identity that will be printed out as stickers. Second, the class will develop a composite design representing their collective identity as a group, that will be translated as wearable art such as hats, shirts, cloth tote bags, etc. Related themes can also be explored. Ultimately, identity outputs may be expanded into a mural, should time and interest allow.

Recommended for Middle to High School. May be adapted for Elementary School.

Illustrated Storytelling Class

In this course students will explore creative ideation through a choose-your-own-adventure style of character and environment development, conflict and its resolution, allowing an unexpected narrative to emerge that will become a comic book/zine for each student to take home and share with others. Themes can be chosen to focus on, and this can be expanded into a Mural or simple animated sequence, should time and interest allow.

Recommended for Middle to High School. May be adapted for Elementary School.

Composite Creatures Class

This class is about exploring how all the individual pieces of a community can come together to create a rich and unique whole. Students claim the pieces and parts they want to be responsible for, and during each session, those are collected to be explored in a larger context about how they might fit together with everyone else’s. The result will be an image or creature that is installable on a wall, can hang from the ceiling or translate into a printed coloring sheet they can fill in. Since the image will be of composite pieces, it could have multiple iterations/find new life and new places to be installed. Themes can be chosen to focus on, and this can be expanded into a Mural or simple animated sequence, should time and interest allow.

Recommended for Elementary to Middle School.

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