Community

A community is not merely a function of proximity in a particular neighborhood. Communities are formed through a variety of circumstances whose common bonds may be of time, place, belief, or experience. In folk art, this is reflected in the wide range of objects that emerge from the shared system that is a community. Expressions may point to a common cultural heritage, such as the decorative arts of the Pennsylvania Germans, or they may indicate a national sense of community and demonstrate an awareness of popular culture or contemporary issues. Students consider their personal communities, from their school or neighborhood to a national identity. Analyzing their belonging to their varied communities, students have a greater understanding of their role and responsibility within.

	Going to School Pre-K–Grade Communities of learners and friends have always formed in classrooms and schools. Students will relate the experiences of their class community to those of students and teachers in America’s past through looking at and making art.
	Painting the Town: Picturing My Community Grades 2–3 Students will look closely at two paintings of communities and compare and contrast the depictions of urban and rural life. They will then paint their own community—its places and its people.
	Coming Together: Creating a Community Quilt Grades 2–3 A nineteenth-century friendship quilt frames this investigation of quiltmaking as a communal art form. Students will collaboratively plan, design, and create a quilt as a class or in small groups.
	A Shared Artistic Tradition: Pennsylvania German Pottery Grades 4–5 Students will explore the bonds and artistic traditions that define communities through a hands-on study of Pennsylvania German pottery techniques.
	The Artist as Activist Grades 4–5 For decades, self-taught artist Purvis Young has painted protests against the injustices and oppression that trouble his community. Students will discuss Young’s work as artistic activism and create their own activist art.