Multicultural Awareness and Art Education

"Art is a way to document our history by showing us what we were, how we live today, and where we can be in the future." -- Wallis. B

Art is a collective human experience that reflects the diversity of cultural, race, gender, society and history but celebrates the Utility through individuality. From the prehistorical animal paintings on the walls of  Chauvet cave to the drops of paint splash from Jackson Pollock's expressive paintings, Art speaks more than just a look. It is a creative expression of humanity's abstract mind. It is criss-crossed by the patterns of values, beliefs, and knowledge. Living in a multicultural society, we need a high level of understanding and respectfulness to those from other cultures. Art education is one of the best ways to include and introduce the diversity of human cultures. 

Art education helps teachers and students understand themselves and others. It is a very crucial step for developing multicultural awareness. Students learn to appreciate diversity through establishing self-identity. They learn to respect multiple perspectives through the freedom of expression in Art. 

When I incorporate multicultural content in the lesson, I will use the following strategies:

1. Use common elements of Art as a theme and let the students cross-exchange their experiences or observations.  For example:
In a lesson on Pattern as a visual element, students will showcase an object or a picture of the pattern they brought from home that represents their culture or their country of origin. They will share the where/what/how about the patterns and gain an understanding of different cultures.  

2. Use a culture or a country as a theme to introduce art techniques or concepts. For example, I designed an Islamic inspired pattern art lesson to introduce Islamic pattern art and the concept of Pattern as a visual element of Art. From introducing the Islamic pattern, students will discover the influence from its religion and beliefs. It adds depth to the students' cultural awareness. 

3. Project-based learning. Set a theme that students need to learn and let the students select the countries/cultures they like to study. For example, students pick a country/culture and research their traditional patterns and the background knowledge to learn about Pattern as a visual element of Art.

There are a few ways to understand if the students are developing the multicultural competence. 

1. Discussion- Students make observations from their learning and create discussions with their peers using example questions from the teacher to ensure they view from different perspectives. It will help the teacher observe students' sense of multicultural awareness.

2. Presentations- Students conclude their study with an organized presentation.  Students will have to analyze their finding and draw conclusions and synthesize them. That means they need to develop a logical argument between different perspectives to present their research.

3. Ask questions and see if they could provide the answers from different perspectives. Practicing thinking from different angles will help the students to develop multiperspective.  By asking students questions, the teachers will be able to understand the students' multicultural competence.  

Living in an era where the world is seemingly flat, we are all interconnected to each other regardless of the culture, religion, or race more than at any previous time. As an educator, it is our privilege and responsibility to pave a bright way for the generations to come. Helping students develop multicultural awareness is one of the most important things we could do.  There is a saying, "Art is long, life is short." Our work will never end until the day the world rests in the peace of Oneness, but we should never ever stop coloring our dreams.


References:

-Ballengee-Morris, C., & Stuhr, P. L. (2001). Multicultural Art and Visual Cultural Education in a Changing World. Art Education, 54(4), 6. doi:10.2307/3193897

-UNESCO-NIE Centre for Arts Research in Education (CARE). (n.d.). Retrieved February 03, 2018, from https://www.unesco-care.nie.edu.sg/research/multiculturalism-art-education-malaysian-perspective

-Wallis B. (1984) Art after Modernism: Rethinking Representation. New York: New Museum of York: Garland Publishing Inc.