Art Advocacy

Art Advocacy was something I wish had been considered more when I was in high school. At my school, if you wanted to take an art class, it was because you were the one who took the initiative. My art teachers were football and soccer coaches who let the kooky artistic kids do their own thing while they prepared for that day's practice. That being said, I really had to teach myself what Art Advocacy really meant, and also decide that I was going to be radically different than my own art teachers.
In my own district as an art teacher I want to show the entire student body that the work that art students produce should be just as recognized as any sports event. Instead of shelving work that my students produce, I want them to display it in the school for everyone to see. If displaying artwork isn't an option in my district I think it would be interesting to hold "art shows" maybe on a bi-monthly basis that would showcase student work even in my classroom. I think it would be fun for my students to be able hand out a leaflet to their peers like a show opening that would invite them to come see student work during passing time or a free period. What I would love even more would be to do something similar to the trimester art show we saw the previous school do.
The risks in art advocacy are that art in itself can be controversial. Displaying work publicly is something that has to be carefully considered. I think asking your students to consider their audience before choosing what artwork should be displayed would be an good way to keep things calm between the arts and other communities in the school system.
One thing I have thought about quite a bit lately are ways to tie in my lessons in art with other things students might be learning in their own classes. I know growing up I always found it helpful when I was learning about something in one class, and talking about similar yet opposing views of the same topic in another class. So I think it would be interesting to join forces with other teachers by asking what lessons they are teaching and if they would like to tie their lessons with a project my students might be doing in their art class. For example, if a history class was discussing a period that generated some poignant artwork, I could talk about those pieces in class and then create a project that would tie in with what they were learning in that class. Those are thing that I think help students absorb information, when they can associate something they learned with something they themselves created. Plus it wouldn't be a bad idea to show other teachers that I want to include their thoughts and opinions in my lessons.