Decolonizing education through Art Education

• In Event: Roundtable Group 7
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Education, civil society and politics

Proposal

Through a partnership with Self Help Graphics Art Gallery, 12th-grade students from Los Angeles created their zines. Students engaged in an 8- week art seminar exploring the differences between Zapatista principles, the US Constitution, and current global government systems. Each week students created art pieces that captured their interpretation of the Zapatista principles to as they grappled with the long-term effects of colonization and imperialism embedded in inner-city communities. The exhibit includes students’ zines, interviews with the students, and their educators.
This project aims to facilitate creative methods of decolonization specifically through the lens of the Zapatista principles. For the first week, students created the cover of their zine comparing the first principle Mandar Obedeciendo (Lead by Obeying) with current global Presidents questioning their leadership methods. In the second week, students created their first zine entry comparing Proponer y No Imponer (Propose, Don’t Impose) with the US Bill of Rights. The second page of their zine centers around the third principle Representar y No Suplantar (Represent, Don’t Replace) with their own experiences as immigrant and 1st generation youth. Afterward, students focused on Antipoder Contra Poder (Anti-power Against Power) while analyzing the dynamics of power seen through the multiple facets of governments. The following week centered on Convencer y No Vencer (Convince, Don’t Defeat) integrated within today’s media. Then they created art focused on Todo Para Todos, Nada Para Nosotros (Everything for Everyone, Nothing for Ourselves) with a critical analysis of capitalism. The final pages will focus on Construir y No Destruir (Construct, Don’t Destroy) paying attention to Climate Change and Queremos Un Mundo Donde Quepan Muchos Mundos (We Want a World Where Many Worlds Fit) where students will reimagine a world where they fit in.
This arrangement will invite other scholars and researchers to rethink the use of art in working toward decolonization . It will allow participants to reimagine how we can share indigenous values with our youth that have been far removed from their indigenous roots through years of erasure and shame. By creating a lesson that centers the Zapatista principles, youth can reimagine a life and political system that can function within their community.

Author

• Rebecca Gallego, University of San Francisco