Art, Activism, Policy, Power was created in 2021 by MoCP Curator of Academic Programs and Collections Kristin Taylor as a learning framework for Chicago Public School high school students to engage with artists working at the intersection of arts and activism.

Through this semester long program, students discover how artists use research in their practice to give voice to the most pressing issues of our time. With the museum as classroom, the permanent collection and exhibition are utilized as educational resources for visual literacy and inspiration for student artworks. Student exhibitions are displayed in-person through Columbia’s Community Engagement Hub, schools, and accessible online on MoCP’s website as a digital exhibition and archive for each program.

In collaboration with Taylor, MoCP’s Jay W. Boersma Arts Education Fellow Kyli Hawks co-creates and organizes educational resources, curriculum, and exhibition programming.

Today, Art, Activism, Policy, Power has hosted 5 annual programs with 1 currently in-progress; generated and sustained relationships with 10 CPS schools across Chicago; and engaged over 500 students. As a result of this program, schools have built MoCP into class curriculum as an approved field trip.

If you are a Chicago Public School educator who would like to learn more about Art, Activism, Policy, Power, please contact Kristin Taylor at ktaylor@colum.edu.