Making and Assessing Art in the Sustainability Classroom

Abstract

Education for sustainability calls for students to become good stewards of the Earth; one way to foster these outcomes is through the process of creating art. Art and art making have potential for helping students restore their connections to the environment while moving their head and heart toward a clearer understanding of the world in which we live. The main focus of this art-making activity is fostering students’ positive expressions about sustainable change—rather than producing “good art”—while enhancing their understanding about, and experience of, the aspects of “art thinking” that differ from other modes of thinking, such as scientific. This activity aims at connecting sustainability across disciplines while helping all students to think creatively, when challenged by the complex themes studied in an environmental or sustainability studies class. After completing the activity, students should be able to (1) express their feelings about sustainability through creative, collaborative artwork, without being inhibited by perceived inabilities to produce “good art,” (2) communicate to classmates how their artwork conveys a sustainability message, and (3) more critically evaluate sustainability messages conveyed in artworks and transfer the acquired skills to all art.