Winding Down - Art of Latin America and Art of Africa

 I seriously cannot believe the first semester is almost over! Students have been working diligently on their two most recent projects. Art of Latin America projects were turned in right before winter break and Art of Africa projects are due this weekend. I updated the virtual art show with some of the Latin America projects (I'm waiting on a few more students to approve their videos to be added), so check them out on the virtual art show tab! 

Students blew me away with their Latin America projects! Most students selected the visual art pathway, but no two artworks were the same. Frida Kahlo and Jose Guadalupe Posada were the most common artists chosen for this project, as their style of art was so iconic and easy to incorporate into artworks (I did this project along with my students, and also chose Kahlo because I liked the idea of creating a self portrait). The pandemic was a hot topic for artwork; many students incorporated masks or an illustration of the coronavirus.  Here are a few samplings from the submissions:

My favorite part of this project was that students were given choice as to which pathway they wanted to follow. Although many students selected visual art, a few students in each class selected one of the performing arts options, allowing their performance skills to shine! Check out the virtual art show to see some of the submissions from the performing categories. 

Students are working on another choice-based project, focusing on the art of Africa. This time, the project was divided into two weeks, where students had to choose one art form for each week, resulting in two mini-projects! Students who chose dance had to create a 30-second video of them performing a dance inspired by traditional African dance choreography. Students who chose music had to create a 30-second video of them performing a rhythm inspired by traditional African instruments. Although some students did have drums at home, many students used found objects, such as buckets, chairs, boxes, and pans, to create their music with. Students who chose theatre had to act out a 30-second (or more) scene from an African folktale. Some students decided to retell the story as a monologue, while others acting alongside family members to recreate the story. Lastly, students who chose visual art created a drawing or 3D mask inspired by traditional African masks. 

Since these projects are being turned in this weekend, I will hopefully have the Art of Africa projects added to the virtual art show by the end of next week. For the last few days of class coming up, I have some really neat activities planned, so stay tuned!