1. TeachableMoment
  2. Creating Collaborative Art in Response to the Insurrection

Creating Collaborative Art in Response to the Insurrection

Adriana Guzman

Students work in small groups to create a collaborative piece of art as a response to photographs from the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. 

SEL and RP

To the teacher:

In this activity, students will create a collaborative piece of art as a response to photographs taken during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Many students may have already engaged in conversation around the happenings of that day, what led up to these events, and how law enforcement reacted to the insurrectionists. This lesson guides students in creatively expressing their emotions about what happened, encouraging them to take a step back from an academic analysis. In small groups, students will combine their creative forces to decide on their artistic response.

We invite you to create a space for students to release their thoughts in ways that are creative and collaborative. The activity calls on us as educators to model more inclusive and participatory practices and to encourage active and empathetic listening, the synthesizing of thoughts and ideas, and creative action. Experiencing such activities can support our students in becoming socially active participants inside and outside of the classroom.

This lesson is meant to be broken up over several days of class to allow the small groups time to collaborate. Alternatively, the project can be assigned as homework, if students have the ability to collaborate outside of the virtual classroom.

Capitol
U.S. Capitol after the Insurrection, by Victoria Pickering

Opening
 

Ask students:

  • If you could take all of your thoughts, feelings, and questions about the invasion of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 and channel them creatively, what would you do? What would you make? How would you express yourself through art?

Let’s watch a (6-minute) video of how Sophia Thakur channeled her thoughts about politics, love, and resilience through her lyrics/poetry, in collaboration with dance and visual art. 

Invite students’ reactions.
 

Introduction
 

Tell students:

  • We will be working in small groups to make our own creative statement about what happened at the Capitol Building on January 6.  
     
  • We do not have access to the kind of technology used to create Sophia Thakur’s video. We’ll need to consider what technology we DO have access to and how it could be used.

Break students into small groups. Group size can be determined by class size, but most importantly by how many students can be safely engaged in breakout rooms or in virtual collaboration spaces. We recommend no more than four students per group.

Tell students that they will be creating a collaborative piece of art around images taken during the insurrection. In their small groups, they will decide how to collectively create a piece of artwork that can be shared on this virtual platform.

Provide students with these guidelines:

  • The project must include contributions from all group members.
  • Combine your artistic responses in a way that can be presented on screen to the class.
  • It may be helpful to choose a notekeeper and timekeeper for your group.
  • Be active listeners. 
  • Be inclusive of your group members’ ideas and needs.

Steps for the project are below. Guide the class in taking the first four steps together, before breaking into small groups.

This process will look different for each virtual classroom. Consider how much synchronous time you have with the students and what your classroom tech allows you to do. Plan to do everything in the activity up to the brainstorm in class. The brainstorm can be carried on by the students in their groups via phone, chat, video call, etc. Help them organize what technology will support their collaborations. Determine how much time they will have for this. This can span from one day to one week. You can decide what will work best for your unique group of students. Check in often.
 


Project: Make Art Together!


Step 1: Identify

Provide students with 3-4 images of those who invaded the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.  Select photos that highlight the questions that have arisen from the behavior of both insurrectionists and police – such as the insurrectionists’ disrespect and the often passive or even encouraging responses of law enforcement.

Alternatively, have the class look at a range of images and have them choose 3-4 that stand out to them. Some possible images can be found here:


Step 2: Reflect and Discuss

As a group, let's discuss, for each image we have selected:

  • What do we see in this image?
  • How does it make you feel?
     

Step 3:  Explore

Think about how you like to express yourself through art:

  • What medium / discipline do you use?  Is it dance, drawing, music, beat making, poetry, painting, writing, etc.?

Ask a few students to share what medium they like to use.
 

Step 4: Brainstorm

Now, have students break into multiple small groups, no more than four students per group.

Tell students that each group can work with one image (chosen or assigned), or all groups can start brainstorming around all of the images deciding as a group if they’d like to narrow it down to less.

Give students a set amount of time for the brainstorm session (if it is happening during class time). If the groups are meeting in class breakout rooms, float to each room to check in. Or, if this is given as a homework assignment, ask students to share what happened in their small group during the class’s next session.

Here are steps for students to follow in their small groups:

  • Share how the image/s made you feel and the artistic medium you use or would like to use for this project.
     
  • Take turns listening. Chose a timekeeper who can make sure that everyone shares for about the same amount of time.
  • After everyone has shared, open the conversation to what you would like to create together.
     

Step 5: Create & Collaborate

Review the guidelines you discussed earlier – and have fun!

Guidelines:

  • The project must include contributions from all group members.
  • Combine your artistic responses in a way that can be presented on screen to the class.
  • It may be helpful to choose a note keeper and timekeeper for your group.
  • Be active listeners. 
  • Be inclusive of your group members’ ideas and needs.
     

Step 6: Share 

Schedule a due date for their projects to be presented. Also schedule check in days/times in between. This can look like an entire session devoted to sharing what the groups have come up with so far, or individual check-ins with each group via email. Again, whatever works best for your group.

On presentation day, each group shares the artistic response they collaboratively created. As one group presents, the others become the audience. Invite audience members to turn their cameras off so only the group that is presenting is visible. After each share, the audience can put their cameras back on and share praise to the presenting group.
 

Closing Reflection
 

  • What was this process like for you? What was it like to collaborate with someone else artistically?
     
  • How do you see art being used to create social change?
     
  • Would you like to share your project with a larger community?