How can public art be an intervention to the dominant narrative? In this lesson, students will closely look at Light of Freedom, a public art piece created by artist Abigail DeVille. They will explore the forms that public art can take beyond sculpture such as performance and sound. Students will then create their own public art and reimagine monuments by exploring overlooked narratives and reflecting on memory and place.

This lesson is a part of the Hirshhorn’s Emerging Artists “Light Your Fire” project which is embedded directly into the DCPS Arts curriculum for grades 9-12.

Guiding Questions:

• Whose stories are missing from public spaces?

• How can we use public art to change the dominant narrative in public spaces?

• What does it mean to use art as an intervention in public spaces?

• Why do we memorialize? What does it mean to memorialize or remember a person or moment in history?

In this lesson, students will:

• Develop and apply design thinking as a process for solving problems

• Appreciate and understand someone else’s point of view

• Become confident in expressing their opinions to peers and adults

• Strengthen their art skills and make new connections between history

Classroom Connections

• Art: Public Art, Sculpture, Performance Art, Sound Art, Monuments

• Music: The Blues, Sound Art

• Social Studies: Community History, US History