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Multiculturally Responsive Strategies:

Putting the culture back into multicultural art
Rosie Morgan
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Richard Burmeister / EDSC 636
December 12, 2007
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A professor asked me and another art educator to collaborate and develop questions
related to an upcoming topic presented by a guest speaker. The speaker would cover the
information available on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network website. As we began the
discussion a question emerged; how do teachers provide multicultural art education without just
making art that simulates culturally significant artifacts? Although the sample multicultural art
projects we observe in publications and practice address different cultures, the treatment of said
culture is somewhat superficial. In effect, many who include multicultural art in their practice
fail to use artwork to increase cultural understanding. Additionally, students who come from
minority backgrounds do not benefit from these lesson plans void of context and depth.
I discovered this to be true during a mask-making project I taught in a high school art
classroom during my student internship. Two students who recently relocated to Fairbanks from
remote Alaskan villages were involved in this project. Even though mask-making could be
categorized as a multicultural art experience, the level of engagement of these two students did
not improve during the unit. While showing a photograph of a dancing presentation at a Klingit
ceremony, I provided some details about the functions of masks within Alaska Native cultures; I
asked the students what was happening in the picture. One of the Alaska Native students raised
his/her hand and said “a powwow”. Normally, this student would never speak up in class. Apart
from the presentation, the student was similarly engaged with the mask-making project in
comparison to other projects throughout the semester. The other Alaska Native student laid
his/her head on the desk throughout the presentation and treated this project with the same
apathy as other projects in class. This lesson was not properly developed to engage students with
minority backgrounds, nor did it provide a significant opportunity for students to understand the
cultures that traditionally use masks. How do we develop multicultural art projects into
opportunities for cultural inquiry? How do we use these projects to improve the educational
experience of our students from diverse backgrounds? Kader (2005) eloquently describes the
sentiments shared in the discussion previously mentioned;
In spite of the plethora of literature pertaining to multicultural art education and
affirmations that the migration of vast numbers of people from Africa, Asia, South
America and the Middle East have forever changed the demographics of the United
States, questions about how art educators should approach multicultural art education
persist. What is multiculturalism? What makes art multicultural? Does a one-month-in-a-
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year adoption of Asian American culture make a curriculum multicultural? Does teaching
rya rug-making to a class of Caucasian American students qualify as a multicultural art
curriculum? (p. 65)

If increased social awareness is the intended goal for multicultural education, then
teaching the art processes of cultural groups is certainly not enough to promote understanding of
the culture itself. Multicultural education should “make visible issues facing different social
groups in our society” (Bailey & Desai, 2005, p. 40). The National Council for the Social Studies
(1994) explained that students living within this democratic society must be enabled to make
sense of the multiple perspectives they will inevitably face in their culturally diverse
communities (as cited in Bailey & Desai, 2005, p. 39). Based on students’ need for this life skill,
an emphasis should be placed on student comprehension of multicultural perspectives so that
students learn to relate to persons with different cultural backgrounds. The art classroom
provides a highly conducive environment for teaching cultural information. Kuster (2006) wrote,
“By its very nature, art offers a rich bounty of cultural exchange. Cultural influences guide
expression in art, and art records and influences culture. Helping students view the world beyond
their own cultural perspectives has potential to enrich them as human beings” (p. 33). Art content
can be taught to prepare students to positively navigate through the culturally diverse society in
which they live.
The National Standards for Arts Education suggest goals in the visual arts that assist
increasing students’ level of cultural understanding. The Consortium of National Arts Education
Associations (1994) wrote the following standard description for grades five through eight,
“Students analyze, describe, and demonstrate how factors of time and place (such as climate,
resources, ideas, and technology) influence visual characteristics that give meaning and value to
a work of art (Visual Arts Standard 4, level 5-8). Notions of aesthetics are influenced by the
social and historical backgrounds of cultural groups. Kader (2005) references several articles in
the magazine SchoolArts that are void of cultural context. One art lesson entitled “School
Mummy” fails to address the complex traditions and funeral practices of ancient Egypt (p. 76).
Kader partially blames this lack of historical information on the format and limited space for
each article in the magazine, but also on the educators who submit the articles. In order for
students to fully recognize the meaning and value of a work of art, background information must
be covered within the lesson plans.
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Teachers make a conscious effort to include cultural topics in art classrooms, but they
often miss the point. For example, culturally significant artifacts, like masks, are often
spotlighted during the month of October, near the American celebration of Halloween. Kader
(2005) explains that the way cultures are represented in classrooms is an additive approach that
is “tokenistic and couched within the dominant Euro-western paradigm” (p. 66). Kuster (2006)
shares the same observation; art educators focus on overt cultural characteristics involving dress
and celebrations (p. 33). Kader (2005) goes on to explain, “To detach a culture from its context is
to render it trivial, and in the minds of these students this is further proof of their ‘otherness’” (p.
66). Perhaps the Alaska Native students in my classroom were similarly disengaged with the
mask-making project because the process was void of the intended cultural purpose. While
students were required to develop and define a function for their mask, the function was
essentially simulated. The masks were treated as art pieces rather than cultural artifacts as they
sat unused behind a glass case. Separated from context and function, and to Kader’s lament, the
masks were made in a superficial fashion without direct reference to their usage.
In order to improve the likelihood that the context of multicultural art will be conveyed to
students and permeate the content of the lesson, Kader (2005) recommends the following
guidelines;
• Consider the geographical location of the area studied
• Use ‘local’ vocabulary to authenticate concepts
• Include the role of art-makers, men or women, in the production process
• Provide history of the art, the country, and the people whose work is being studied
• Explain symbols pertaining to the artwork
• Review socio-economic conditions prevailing at the time the artworks were made
• Consider the relationship between the past when artworks were made and what
changes, if any, have occurred since in how the artwork is viewed at the present
time
• Consider the influence of commercialism on traditional cultures (Kader, p. 80)

Kader’s recommendation to authenticate cultural concepts by using ‘local’ vocabulary also

improves minority students engagement and performance based on the findings of the following
research. Spina (2006) studied how culturally responsive teaching methods effected the language
development of students learning English as a second language (ESL). Through an Authentic
Arts-Based Curriculum (AABC) teachers employed Vygotsky’s social learning and scaffolding
concepts. Spina (2006) wrote, “The activities within AABC simultaneously provide instruction
in higher-order thinking and structured experience in L2 [second language] learning without
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demanding the devaluation or assimilation of the first language. This is important because
language is also closely tied to personal identity (Bartolome, 1994). Although cognizant of the
importance of L2 mastery, the learner fears the loss of part of his or her “self” ” (p.116). With
this research in mind, art instructors can use non-westernized terms to describe cultural artifacts
as a way to demonstrate respect for the culture of origin. If teachers are discussing artwork made
by a cultural group represented by a student in the classroom, it would behoove them to make
use of that language as much as possible in the presentation. By so doing, students will benefit
from the respect appropriated to the culture that influences their personal identity. According to
Spina (2006) students who have been exposed to more than one culture have cognitive
advantages in that they are more able to consider a variety of ideas which affects the scope of
their creativity. While students who come from minority backgrounds need to feel that their
culture is respected, they are able to creatively bridge the gap between their own culture and that
of the mainstream, especially when teachers assist this process. In the same article Spina (2006)
suggests that assessments and learning materials be adjusted to remove the requirement that
students have a commonality in cultural experience and language in order to succeed in class.
Beyond making minor adjustments in learning materials, Marlowe and Page (2004) suggest that
teachers adopt a constructivist methodology to teaching. They claim that constructivism allows
students the opportunity to use their unique knowledge and experience in the learning process.
For this purpose Kuster (2006) recommends that teachers focus their study of cultures on those
found within the student body (p. 34). By focusing on ways to connect content with students’
prior knowledge, teachers can begin to employ the methodology.
Bailey and Desai (2005) discuss practical ways that collaborative art projects can enable
students to investigate a community and collect cultural data. These methods are patterned after
the work of Tomie Arai and community events like the “Who’s the Landlord Project”. They
discern that these methods treat art more like a social science. After recording oral histories and
collecting artifacts, students develop artwork in response to their research. This is the point
where students make connections between their research and their own perceptions according to
Kader (2005) who explained her own philosophy in the following words, “In my view,
knowledge transference occurs best when art forms of specific cultures act as catalysts for highly
personal and emotive interpretations of one’s own culture and arts” (p. 80). Perhaps students will
encounter challenging information during the research process. Teachers can act as moderators
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during in-class discussions to allow students to grapple with the reality of diverse world views.
Bailey and Desai (2005) wrote, “To act as researcher/artist creates the opportunity to move
between critical cultural observer and producer of culture itself” (p. 40). During research,
students practice learning from others, listening, and interacting respectfully. These activities
help students acquire skills of intercultural competence.
In the end, what should art educators do with this information? Kader (2005) challenges
art teachers to critically consider how they teach lessons categorized under ‘multicultural art’ and
how they share their lesson plans in publications. When numerous art educators are reviewing
the articles supplied in pedagogical magazines like SchoolArts, the lesson plans shared should
model appropriate use of multicultural art lessons by providing, at minimum, sources for
historical information. Bailey and Desai (2005) encourage educators to explore the role of
community based art projects in curriculum and practice. In considering the cultural diversity
within the community we inhabit, students practice intercultural skills in an authentic manner.
With a rich amount of place-based research to draw from, inspiration will be readily available to
students and inform their artwork. In order to reach each student, whether they come from an
ethnic group in minority or not, educators must provide enough room in assignments to allow
students to relate art projects to the microcosm of their unique lives, making the work they
develop in class personally significant. To do so, they will need the artistic freedom to create
artwork that will not mimic the artifacts studied in the multicultural art lesson. By connecting art
content with personally significant images, themes and concepts, students are more likely to
retain the new information. As art educators, including myself, considering the recommendations
discussed in this paper will increase the culturally responsive nature of their classrooms and
begin to put the culture back into their multicultural art.
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References
Bailey, C. and Desai D. (2005). Visual art and education: Engaged visions of history and
community. Multicultural Perspectives. 7(1), 39-43.
Kader, T. (2005). SchoolArts: DBAE and multicultural art education in the united states of
America. International Journal of Education through Art. 1(1), 65-84.
Kuster, D. (2006). Back to basics: Multicultural theories revisited and put into practice. Art
Education. 59 (5), 33-39.
Marlowe, B., & Page, M. (2004). Making the most of the classroom mosaic. In A. Canestrari &
B. Marlowe (Eds.), Educational foundations: An anthology of critical readings (78-96).
Thousand Oaks: Sage.
National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum
Standards for Social Studies. Washington D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies.
Spina, Stephanie U. (2006). Worlds together … words apart: An assessment of the effectiveness
of arts-based curriculum for second language learners. Journal of Latinos and Education.
5(2), 99-122.
The Consortium of National Arts Education Associations. (1994). The National Standards for
Arts Education. Retrieved on December 12, 2007 from http://artsedge.kennedy-
center.org/teach/standards/.