Getting Personal While Feeling Separated
/Students at Anoka Middle School for the Arts are no strangers to creative projects, but their recent experience with COMPAS Teaching Artist Malia Araki Burkhart was a first. As part of a COMPAS remote arts residency, they were able to share touching personal art across the distance learning divide. In this week’s blog post, we explore how being creative can bridge gaps and forge connections – even if we’re not doing it in-person.
Malia Araki BUrkhart led the Art and Personal Narrative residency at Anoka Middle School for the Arts.
It started with a classroom assignment that was sure to result in exciting and personal artmaking. “The project revolves around telling a personal narrative,” explains Melissa Williams, a lead English-Language Arts classroom teacher at Anoka Middle School for the Arts. “Students pick a significant personal moment in their lives and then translate it into a piece of art.”
Williams, along with curriculum specialist Jolanda Dranchak, specifically sought out Malia Araki Burkhart to facilitate the project. “Malia was recommended by my predecessor,” says Dranchak. “She was a great fit.”
Students who chose to translate their narrative into a spoken word or musical piece worked with student-teacher Ted Cullen, while Malia focused on 2D and 3D visual interpretations. “The students were really excited about this project,” says Williams. “We had a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and everyone was looking forward to having Malia in the classroom.”
Malia created a series of video lessons for students to follow.
Unfortunately, the transition to distance learning forced everyone to re-think their plans. Like other teachers across the country, Williams, Dranchak, and Cullen did what teachers do best: they improvised. Even if Malia couldn’t come to the school in-person, she could still share her expertise and love of art with AMSA’s students through a remote residency. “Malia was the one who proposed it actually,” says Jolanda Dranchak. “We didn’t know how it was going to work initially because we needed something asynchronous, but as we talked about it, we thought it was worth giving it a shot.”
Malia worked independently to shoot a series of instructional videos that outlined the different artistic techniques and skills students could use. She sent students on scavenger hunts through their homes to find everyday materials that could be repurposed for artmaking and then talked through the process of concepting, revising, and presenting a piece of 2D or 3D art that illustrates a personal narrative. In a culminating event, students shared their final pieces with each other through Flip Grid, a digital platform, and Malia responded with personal feedback.
Despite the challenges of facilitating a remote arts residency, Malia guided students through the process of telling their stories. “I was worried that students wouldn’t want to do it, but we had a lot of kids who were really excited,” says Cullen. "Malia's engagement online was amazing!” says Williams. “She has such a teaching nature, and her spirit with the students was so apparent. The kids really gravitated toward her, and the written and live feedback she gave them was so beneficial."
The new format still let the heart of the project shine through, and students told heartfelt stories from their own lives. “The moments they picked were really poignant,” says Williams. “They were so thoughtful, and many of them were very emotional.” With Malia’s help, students transformed personal stories about their families and challenges into pieces of stunning artwork, and they forged connections with each other and with their teachers in this time of isolation. See some of their personal narrative projects in the adjacent gallery!
Interested in booking a COMPAS Teaching Artist for a remote residency or virtual classroom drop-in? Email Program Director Julie Strand or book a Teaching Artist now!
