Art in Action: Exploring Social Justice With Students

Art and creative concepts are pervasive in our everyday culture. Art also offers an accessible lens for people to experience issues of social justice both locally and globally. Even better for our students, art allows students to engage with social justice issues in a meaningful and age-appropriate way.

An issue near and dear to the hearts of our school community was the plight of animal welfare both on our school campus and in the city where we lived. Stray cats could be found in every neighborhood and around every dumpster. Further afield, stray dogs and their puppies could sometimes escape notice but were very often confronted by human activities. Adding to the issue was the fact that the local government (not in America) did not have any laws or policies accounting for animal welfare or control. What can people who love animals but don't have widespread governmental support do to help? Investigate, reflect, connect, and then act.

Students knew that animal welfare was a problem both on our campus and in the community because they could see it with their own eyes. This made them think about the harsh reality of these animals' lives, how animals were both helped and hurt by humans, and who was already working on these issues. So we connected with local animal rescue groups and asked what we could do to help. They gave us the following suggestions:

• TNR (trap, neuter, release) the cats already living on our school campus so they wouldn't continue to breed, stayed healthier, and established a stable territory.
• Make a commitment to your own pets so that they don't get lost or abandoned.
• Donate time and money to animal rescue groups so they could continue their invaluable work.

With our plan of action, we began creating artworks inspired by animals to draw attention to the issue of animal welfare in our community. We decided to sell these artworks at the school's annual Friendship Festival to raise money for our TNR campaign and to make a donation to the rescue groups already in operation. Didn't they do a spectacular job?!

I am proud to say that through our school group's efforts from the sale of artwork, hosting a craft booth at Friendship Festival, and organizing other student events we were able to raise almost $10,000. I can't wait to see what these kids are capable of as they grow and continue to fight for change.