About the Project

El Salón (“the living room”) provides a chance for students and their families to come together in our newly modernized art classroom for monthly celebrations of the visual arts. Starting the school year with a fresh new room provides an opportunity to involve students and their families in the living growth of the room into a comfortable and welcoming space…a classroom. After being displaced from our art classroom for its months-long modernization, we landed in a small computer lab with a somewhat different atmosphere than my students were used to. With limited space inside and dramatic weather outside, I decided to modify our focus. Students began shooting photographs around school with their phones, putting these sophisticated tools to excellent use. Each day started with a new theme (“Things keep their secrets,” “Nature/Not Nature”, etc…) and the finished artwork was displayed in a gallery-style show for open house, hung and managed by students. At our open house I saw families talking about artwork. They began with their own student’s work, but kept pointing and talking as they went around the room. In a school where parents report feeling somewhat distant from the school, my project brings them into the classroom to share what their students are learning and creating, starting valuable conversations and connections, and building capacity for shared visions.