The Sustainability Academy believes that the art studio is a essential space for EFS. In our program each student is offered an opportunity to understand their world through creative play, invention, trial and error, and collaboration. We build a community of hard-working, inquisitive, and creative minds that wonder why things are the way they are – this is an essential question of ecology and science! Each student is encouraged to develop multiple solutions and provide rationale for the choices that they make – here they are mathematicians. When each student makes an armature for a plaster-wrapped sculpture, or a found object form, they are understanding the internal workings and exterior appearance of any life form and any construction project. Any engineer or environmental scientist can relate to that process. Most importantly, art-making is an act of responding to an experience, making a judgement or criticism, entertaining a new thought, or considering a point of view in a creative way. And while your student may show you a finished product seen as a simple visual creatrion, the ideas in each child’s head are much more complex and rooted in language. At the Sustainability Academy we don’t ask the question “why is learning about art important?,” but “How could we ever make a sustainable community without it?”
-David Paarlberg-Kvam, Art Teacher for Sustainability Education
Feel free to follow our K-5 year in the art studio at @dpkartwork and learn more about how art supports our Education for Sustainability mission. Art and Project Based Learning at SA is shared regularly here.
Student Gallery from 2024-25 – Check back regularly for updates!
Highlights from 2023-24
