When I was in school, I was never taught that I had a responsibility to my community. Jobs were about money and making the best individual life possible. It was not about becoming the next generation of leaders, makers, and educators. When I started taking classes in Art Education, I began hearing words like “agency,” “cultural citizenship,” and “empowerment.” I began to see myself as a leader of the next generation of students. A flood of responsibility rushed through my body. But, it was not scary responsibility (like the kind parents can sometimes instill in their kids), it was EMPOWERING responsibility.
I get to take ownership of my life!
I get to be a leader in my sphere of influence.
I get to lead from a place of love.
I get to claim the rights of others and myself.
I get to provide a safe space for my students to find their voice.
I get to comment on the world I exist in & allow others to do the same.
Doesn’t that sound empowering?
I am so excited to find this out now—and I cannot wait to let my students in on this (should-not-be) secret.
An example of my own Empowered Art Making
But, how do you teach someone they have agency in their world?
I do not think it is through simple words, I think it is through experiencing. I have personally experienced my agency in the world through making art, looking at art, and having conversations about it with peers. I have used art to think about the world and my place in it and it has changed the way I live in my community.
When someone makes art, they tell themselves that what they have to say matters. They tell themselves their personhood can make a mark in this world. The act in itself is an act of belief. When students experience a contemporary artist’s work, they begin to see how others see the world and they begin to give a voice to their own experiences. Contemporary artists give viewers permission to think about the world differently. When students share their art with others, they are impacting their communities in a tangible way. It is empowering!
I have been thinking a lot about the brokenness in the world recently and how I used to distract myself in my little bubble (the bubble I was taught to build in grade school). But through reflective art making, I am learning how to pop the bubble and enter into the brokenness. I no longer want to live in my own world. I want to use my unique talents and areas of leadership to make an impact in my community; to become a citizen, maker, and educator in this world. I cannot wait to let my future students in on this empowering (should-not-be) secret!