LESSON CONCEPT #1
Permission to Leave a Mark
1. Assignment Connection
Identity, Mark-Making, and Public Space Unit
2. Key Question
How can artists challenge systems of power when they are not allowed to permanently alter a space?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
- Students will investigate how artists have developed alternative forms of street art in response to legal restrictions, surveillance, and institutional control.
- Students will examine how the inability to leave permanent marks often leads to more creative and conceptually sophisticated forms of intervention.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze examples of graffiti, street art, and public art.
- Document marks found throughout their school or community.
- Categorize marks according to power structures.
- Design a site-responsive temporary installation or drawing that comments on visibility and permission.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
- Cameras or phones
- Sketchbooks
- Chalk
- Painter’s tape
- Paper
- Markers
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1
Discussion:
What counts as a legitimate mark?
Students examine examples ranging from cave paintings to graffiti tags to public monuments.
Day 2
Site walk around school.
Students document:
- official signs
- student marks
- graffiti
- announcements
- memorials
Day 3-4
Students identify a location where a temporary intervention could reveal a hidden power structure.
Day 5
Students install and document their work.
7. Formative Assessment
- Site observations
- Sketch proposals
- Written rationale
- Peer discussion regarding how effectively the work addresses power
8. Artists
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Mossy Giant
- Keith Haring
LESSON CONCEPT #2
Mapping Invisible Systems
1. Assignment Connection
Systems Thinking & Information Design Unit
2. Key Question
How can artists reveal invisible systems without adding permanent objects to a space?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that systems of power often operate invisibly through rules, routines, expectations, and social structures.
Students will investigate how schools, cities, governments, social media platforms, and communities organize behavior through hierarchical systems.
Students will learn that artists can reveal hidden structures through visual representation
Students will investigate how site-responsive artists expose hidden systems through subtle interventions.
Rather than making a mural, students create work that points viewers toward something already present but often ignored.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
- Identify a system they participate in.
- Analyze relationships between individuals, institutions, and authority.
- Create a visual map of a system.
- Use design strategies to communicate hierarchy and power relationships.
5. Example Interventions
Social Traffic Maps
Students use temporary chalk arrows showing how people actually move through a school versus intended routes.
Power Maps
Students identify spaces where:
- students have authority
- teachers have authority
- administrators have authority
and create temporary visual markers highlighting those zones.
Reverse Graffiti Pathways
Students use water or cleaning techniques to reveal overlooked circulation patterns.
6. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
- Sketchbooks
- Large paper
- Colored markers
- Illustrator or Canva
- Projector
7. Sequence of Activities
Day 1
Discussion:
What is a system?
Students brainstorm systems they interact with:
- school
- social media
- transportation
- sports
- family structures
Day 2
Students create diagrams identifying power relationships.
Day 3-5
Students transform diagrams into large-scale visual maps.
Day 6
Critique focused on clarity and interpretation.
8. Formative Assessment
- Brainstorming charts
- System diagrams
- Draft reviews
- Reflection explaining identified power structures
9. Artists
- Candy Chang
LESSON CONCEPT #3
Guerrilla Kindness: Reimagining Public Space
1. Assignment Connection
Site-Specific Installation & Community Engagement Unit
2. Key Question
How can artists temporarily transform public spaces to empower others?
3. Primary Understanding & Learning Goals
Students will understand that public space is not neutral.
Artists can use temporary interventions to:
- disrupt expectations
- encourage participation
- create community
- challenge social hierarchies
Students will investigate how street artists use creativity rather than property damage to reshape experiences of shared spaces.
4. Technical Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze examples of site-specific street art.
- Identify underutilized or overlooked spaces.
- Design temporary interventions.
- Document public interaction with their work.
Possible Interventions
- Yarn Bombing
Transforming fences, bike racks, or trees with knitted coverings. - Plant Graffiti
Using natural materials to create temporary images. - Hidden Messages
Installing temporary signs that encourage reflection. - Community Prompt Walls
“What should change about this space?” - Projection Art
Temporary nighttime projections. - Interactive Chalk Installations
Inviting participation from others.
5. Materials, Equipment, & Tools
- Research materials
- Sketchbooks
- Presentation boards
- Digital design software
6. Sequence of Activities
Day 1: Explore & Discuss
- Examine examples of green graffiti, reverse graffiti, yarn bombing, and public interventions.
- Discuss how artists use temporary art to challenge or reshape public space.
- Conduct a site walk and identify potential locations for intervention.
Day 2: Plan
- Sketch ideas and select a site.
- Write a brief proposal explaining the site’s significance and intended impact.
- Receive peer and instructor feedback.
Day 3: Create & Install
- Create and install temporary, site-responsive interventions.
- Photograph and document the work.
Day 4: Reflect & Share
- Present documentation.
- Discuss how the intervention engaged with power, systems, or hierarchy.
- Complete a short written reflection.
7. Formative Assessment
Students document:
- Their intervention.
- Why they chose the site.
- What system, hierarchy, or social norm they hoped to address.
- How viewers interacted with the work.
8. Artists
- Candy Chang
- Agata Oleksiak
- Stephen Powers