Elementary Studio Lesson
Jose Garcia, grade four.
tellusaboutthemselvesintheirart,
andwhatweallhaveincommon.In
ourincreasinglypluralisticsociety,
andinparticular,ourmulticultural
cityofMiami,thislevelofunder-standingthroughtheartsbecomes
highlysignificant.
Passportsfor Travel
Tothatend,eachstudentcreated
amini U.S.passport, repletewith
pagesfromthecountriestowhich
theyhave“traveled.”Anthony
Moreno, gradefour, filledouthis
Mexicopageabouttheartof Frida
KahloandDiegoRivera,explaining
thegeographyandMayanruleofthe
land, andmentioningthespecially
designedMexicantrajes(traditional
clothing)thatrepresenttheircul-ture. Intheintroductorypageof
hispassport,underneaththephoto,
Anthony,whoisfromasuburbof
Miami,statedthathewantstolearn
Chinese, explorethecityof Tokyo,
andvisitthe Louvre Museumin
Paris. Thisisquiteawishlistfora
boyfromthe’burbs, madeallthe
morerealisticandfeasiblebecause
ofhiseducationthroughthearts.
Passports of Mean ing
Laurie Russell and Tracy Ellyn
Assembledinagroupat Thehighestqualityoflearn- CulturalPride
theLoweArtMuseum ingtakesplacewhenstudentsare TheindigenouspeopleofGuate-
inMiami,youngvisitors, immersedintherichculturalheri- malahaveanintensecommit-
studentsatSouthMiami tageofavarietyof menttotheir
K–8Center’sExpressiveArtsCen- countries,asthey Eachstudentcreateda heritage.During
ter,engagedindiscoveringthearts, learnfromhands- portrait of apeer, inspired theGuatemalan
textiles,andcultureofGuatemala onstudioprojects, Civil War,which
andits Mayancommunity. Whether curatedmuseum bytheartandtextilesof lastedmorethan
ornotaschoolordistricthasamag- exhibitions,liter- LatinAmerica. thirty-sixyears
netartprogramsuchasthisone, aryresources,and untilthe1996
itbehoovesstudents,teachersand elaboratefood,music,andcostume PeaceAccords,theycouldnotwear
administratorstoincorporateahigh- fiestastoroundouttheirexperi- theirclothingorspeaktheirnative
quality,interdisciplinary,globally ences. Mayanlanguageforfearofrepri-
aware,communityintegratedmodel Iwantedthesestudentstounder- sal. Now,thistraditionalclothing
ofeducationintotheirartprograms. standwhotheindigenous Mayaare, iswornasasourceoftremendous
whattheyarerepresent, whatthey pride,asisthecasewithother
26 SchoolArts February2008
immediate environment as they
“traveled” to Latin America through
their art. Their finished portraits are
sources of tremendous pride.
Celebrating Multicultural
Understanding
To celebrate students’ newfound
awareness, their study culminated
with a “Mexican Fiesta” at the
Lowe Art Museum. Each student
dove into the art and culture by
wearing genuine trajes, eating the
food and listening to the music of
the region, and participating in the
museum exhibition.
We have so much art and culture
to offer in our communities, and
children should participate in it
while they can. They can travel and
understand their world better, without ever leaving home.
Resources
Arden, Traci. Flowers for the Earth
Lord: Guatemalan Textiles from
the Permanent Collection. Coral
Gables, FL: Lowe Art Museum,
University of Miami, 2006.
Laurie Russell is a magnet art teacher at
South Miami K– 8 Center’s Expressive Arts
Center in Miami, Florida. laurierussell@
dadeschools.net
Tracy Ellyn is a contributing editor to
SchoolArts and president of Miami Art
and Design in Miami, Florida. tzivia@bell-south.net
NATIONAL STANDARD
Students will use visual structures
and functions of art to communicate ideas.
WEB LINKS
www.lowemuseum.org
www.mayatraditions.com
www.nimpot.com
www.rutahsa.com/traje.html
www.travelyukatan.com/maya/
huipil-resources.php
SA802
Circle No. 120 on Reader’s Service card.
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