THE MESSAGE IS IN THE MURALS

Elementary school art focuses on diversity, messages

Class project teaches first graders how art can have meaning, teacher says.

It brought them together at a time when the pandemic was keeping people apart. Vibrant collages of student-drawn portraits sit outside Marie M. Hughes Elementary School on the West Side of Albuquerque. While the banners now welcome students coming back to campus for in-person learning, they were created when classes were virtual.

“What I thought was, ‘Well, if we can’t be together, let’s make a bunch of faces and put them all together,’ ” said Andy Young, a first grade teacher.

His students drew individual pictures digitally that he combined into cohesive pieces of art.

There are fun ones, such as 6-year-old Olivia Baum’s avocado face, while others are tributes to favorite colors and former friends.

“My friend from preschool loved the color blue,” Baum said, pointing to the aqua locks on her portrait.

Similarly, Lancelin Walker, 7, used her favorite color palette of yellows and reds.

“She’s happy!” Walker said, describing her portrait.

Young used the project to augment his math and social studies lessons, as well as some English work.

For example, the class sold hoodies, pillows and other merchandise with the artwork printed on it to raise funds for the project and they tracked the donations as part of a math assignment.

“I do big art projects with my students every year that integrate a lot of curriculum and will culminate in some type of big art project, which was a challenge this year because we were separated from each other,” Young said.

He also focused on diversity, telling his students to make sure their artwork reflected the different kinds of hair people have or different skin tones.

“It gave us an opportunity to talk about that. If we’re going to show people, let’s talk about the diversity of people,” Young said.

The teacher started

incorporating the project into lessons around the winter holidays and wrapped up about a month ago.

Another goal was to show students that art can send a message.

“For a first grader, art is about representation. It’s about … can you draw something accurately?” Young said. “The idea that art can deliver a message, that it can do something for the community, that it can be embedded in experience is a really new idea for kids this age.”

The message of the banners outside of Marie M. Hughes Elementary is clear: “It’s about celebrating togetherness,” Young said.

JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL From left, Marie M. Hughes Elementary School first graders Olivia Baum, Mabel Taylor, Devon Peyton, Lancelin Walker and Logan Ackels, along with teacher Andy Young, pose Tuesday in front of artwork on display at the front of the school. Students drew portraits that were combined to create the banners.

Third grader Jackson Marshall scooters past colorful banners at Marie M. Hughes Elementary School on Tuesday. The art was created by first grade students and incorporated into lessons by their teacher.