Make it Public:

 A Playful Approach to Public Art &  Culturally Responsive Connections

This workshop explores simple classroom activities that help students generate public art ideas through collective authorship, cultural memory, and civic engagement.

SECTION 1: Workshop Slides HERE

• Overview of civic art in K-12 classrooms

• Public Art Generator activity

• Kamayan Civic Table activity

• Classroom implementation ideas

SECTION 2: Public Art Generator Slides and Template (PDF)

Description: A playful tool that helps imagine public art ideas by combining:

• Location

• Technique

• Community Theme

SECTION 3: Kamayan Civic Table Activity

Inspired by the Filipino communal dining tradition kamayan, students contribute drawings of food memories to a shared collective table.

Activity steps:

1. Draw a food connected to a memory of home

2. Add three words describing the memory

3. Place the drawing on a shared class table

Why it works:

• Builds community

• Connects identity to artmaking

• Demonstrates collective authorship

SECTION 4: Classroom Public Art Prompts

Teachers start with simple questions:

• What message would students want to share with their community?

• Where on campus could art invite conversation?

• What would a collaborative artwork about belonging look like?

Students explore:

-WHERE the artwork lives

-HOW people interact with it

-WHY it matters

SECTION 5: National Core Arts Standards Connection

This workshop connects to:

Creating: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas

Responding: Interpret meaning in artistic work

Connecting: Relate artistic ideas to societal and cultural contexts