A Green Approach

Using Art Education to Create a

Sustainable School Campus
Sasha Newman

March 28, 2015

ARE 6641: Contemporary Issues in Art Education
Critical Action/Intervention Plan

Research Brief
Many strong voices in the art education community call for a new
approach to developing curriculum that is more relevant for 21 st century
students. Doug Blandy (2011) has specifically argued that the future of art
education will revolve around sustainability, participatory culture, and
performing democracy (p. 244). Of these three concepts, the idea of
sustainability is easily accessible for teachers to incorporate into their
curriculum. Sustainability is the idea that humans can change their habits to
reduce their negative impact on the environment and preserve it for future
generations. Blandy (2011) states, the concept of sustainability is
promising for the arts and art education in that there is a growing recognition
that a sustainable environment is possible only if 'culture' is viewed as
integral to quality of life" (p. 245). He believes that if the arts can be
accepted as vital to change, then they can provide a much-needed cultural
approach to the problems plaguing the world today. Blandys belief in
teaching sustainability through art education is supported through educating
students about recycling, farming, gardening, and changes they can make in
the community.
The first step towards teaching sustainability is the understanding that
arts are central to bringing attention to the socio-political changes that are
necessary in order to sustain the environment (Blandy & Hoffman, 1993, p.
25). Blandy and Hoffman (1993) claim that a holistic view of the world is
needed in order to change the way people interact with and perceive their
environment. The authors suggest an art education of place, using the arts
to help students understand their role in the community and how their lives
impact the natural environment. By connecting to the world around us, an
art education of place expands community to include the biodiversity that
exists on earth (Blandy & Cowan, 1997, p. 40). This method of art education
allows students to discover and establish a community that is diverse and
ever expanding. Blandy and Hoffman (1993) support teaching through an art
education of place because it teaches about art in a way that promotes an

understanding of interdependence and interconnectedness of all things (p.

28). In this way art educators can teach sustainability through more relevant
curriculum.
Another method of teaching sustainability is through trigger point
theory, used by artist Aviva Rahmani (http://avivarahmani.com/). This
concept is based on the idea that dramatic change can grow from a single
starting point and spread outwards to affect positive results. This theory is
often compared to principles of energy flow in the body (chi), which parallels
Blandy and Hoffmans idea of a holistic view of the environment. Rahmani
(2013) explains, trigger point theory and chi share ideas about activating
energetic flow by identifying blockage points in biogeography" (p. 23). Art
can be a catalyst of change, no matter how small it starts. Art educators can
use this concept to teach sustainable practices one step at a time. As an
ecological artist, Rahmani is also a prime example for creating curriculum
around environmental issues and methods of creating change. Rahmanis
(2013) argument, every issue impacting the earth today, from economics to
poverty, is either caused or exacerbated by ecosystem degradation,"
summarizes the best reasoning for why art education should address these
issues (p. 23).
Finally an alternative approach to accepting what constitutes art must
be addressed to proceed with teaching sustainability. Ronald Neperud
(2007) discusses his exploration of farming and its inherently aesthetic
practices of creating, shaping, and valuing the environment through his
personal experiences (p. 418). He believes as a discipline, art education
needs to include a search for meanings of art and aesthetics in a cultural
sense; for example, farming as part of American life (Neperud, 2007, p.
442). While farming is not a traditional art form, the artistic values of
environmental design and sustainability are clear. As Neperud (2007)
explains, environmental design represents the interactions of all elements,
including humans at a particular time and place (p. 419). In this way
farming connects to an art education of place and can fit exceedingly well

within a curriculum focused on helping students create positive change for

the future.
Hicks and King (2007) have stated the arts have the potential to redirect attention and to educate our capacity to care (p. 335). There is no
better reason than this to incorporate sustainability into a curriculum that
encourages students to care for the world around them. The Madeira School
provides a strong platform on which to build such a curriculum. Established
on almost 400 acres of beautifully preserved land that overlooks the
Potomac River, the natural world is a part of every day life on campus. The
boarding school has already taken steps towards reducing their
environmental impact by updating the campus with more eco-friendly
facilities and has even made sustainability a large part of its mission.
However, to honor the legacy of the school and to protect the campus for
future students, more changes must be made. The school could create a
plan for sustainability by making use of arts ability to communicate ideas,
document events, call attention to problems and harms, remind us of history
and our obligations to future generations, and its ability to actively preserve,
restore, and make whole (Hicks & King, 2007, p. 335).
Using the schools module schedule, I have created an intensive fiveweek course where students will spend 80 minutes everyday addressing the
issues of sustainability and the environment of their campus home. This
course would become the first step towards yearlong sustainability practices
and could be repeated several times throughout the school year. The
curriculum unit would begin with challenging students to become more
aware of the waste they produce on campus daily. Through various art
projects using recyclable materials, students will address this waste and
install their work in prominent locations to bring school-wide recognition to
the issue. Next, the students would develop a plan to establish and build a
community garden or farm to educate the community about sustainable
agriculture practices and connect with their environment. Finally, the
students will be asked to use their experience and create a media blitz

around the community to educate the campus about incorporating

sustainable practices in their everyday lives. Each step of this plan will ask
students to think critically and develop ways to keep their boarding school
home pristine for future generations of students.

References
Blandy, D. (2011). Sustainability, participatory culture, and the performance
of democracy: Ascendant sites of theory and practice in art education.
Studies in Art Education, 52(3), 243-255.
Blandy, D., & Cowan, D. (1997). Imagine! Yellowstone: Art education and the
reinhabitation of place. Art Education, 50(6), 40-46.
Blandy, D., & Hoffman, E. (1993). Toward and art education of place. Studies
in Art Education, 35(1), 22-33.
Hicks, L. E., & King, J. H. (2007). Guest editorial: Confronting environmental
collapse: Visual culture, art education, and environmental
responsibility. Studies in Art Education, 48(4), 332-335.
Neperud, R. (2007). Personal journey into the participatory aesthetics of
farming. Studies in Art Education, 48(4), 416-432.
Rahmani, A. (2013). Triggering change: An experimental public art project in
Maine leads to a call-to-action. Public Art Review, 48, 23.