Art and Social Justice
A course for educators
What is the relationship between art and social justice? How have American artists over the last 100 years used their work to speak out against injustices, advocate for change, and honor the lived experiences of marginalized communities? This course uses artworks in LACMA’s collection to encourage critical thinking about historical and contemporary social justice issues, and build confidence in integrating art into interdisciplinary lesson plans that inspire real-world connections and elevate student agency.
Image: Jacob Lawrence, The 1920's...The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots, 1974, silkscreen, 32 x 24 1/4 in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the Lorillard Company (M.75.121.11), photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Your Instructors
Lara Schilling has worked with learners of all ages in German and American museums, and currently develops curricular resources and professional development programs for K-12 teachers. She received an MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from Bard Graduate Center, where she was a Curatorial Fellow from 2014-2016, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Barnard College. Lara joined LACMA in 2017.
Veronica Alvarez has worked with elementary, high school, and college students, teaching subjects such as Spanish and ancient Mediterranean history, and has served as an art education consultant for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, UCLA's Chicano Studies Resource Center, and other LA area museums. After 14 years in the education department at the J. Paul Getty Museum, she moved to LACMA as Director of School and Teacher Programs. Veronica is currently a doctoral student at LMU’s Educational Leadership in Social Justice program.