Description

Exquisitely Connected: A National Digital Mural Community 

A 4-day arts-integrated experience connecting our current times to history and to a national community

Students will create a portion of a growing national digital mural based on their personal experiences of living in times where the global pandemic is colliding with demands for social justice. This mural project was initiated by the teaching artist, Molly Johnson, within the first week after the U.S. covid lockdown and has been growing every day since, offering opportunity for all people to vent in a very visible, constructive, and safe way while also grounding to history.  The workshop begins by anchoring students to art movements which were founded in times of similar crisis: Dada and Surrealism (WWI and WWII as well as the 1918 influenza pandemic) and the Harlem Renaissance (cultural displacement of slavery and the Great Migration). Through an open-eyed look at these historic facts, students gain understanding of how art specifically helped people move from fear and oppression to empowerment. Next, students engage in a series of quick exercises where design choices connect to idea communication. Finally, they create a piece with written explanation that expresses their views on these current times. Their art will be linked to form a local community mural as well as being added to the growing national digital mural.

The national mural exists through the in-kind support of Monmouth Arts in Red Bank, NJ, ( https://www.monmoutharts.org/exquisitely-connected) and Maryhill Museum in Goldendale, WA (https://www.maryhillmuseum.org/exquisitelyconnected ). This national project can help students broaden their local views as they share their creations with the group and offer supportive feedback on the works produced by people in other parts of the country.

The work represented in this section of Exquisitely Connected was created by the 8^th grade class at Estell Manor school, NJ prior to the end of the 2019/20 school year.

Program options:

Virtual (Live Streaming)

Please fill out this inquiry form or call 866-500-9265 for more information. (Virtual programs are not charged a travel fee.)