IT STARTS WITH ART
Poster Campaign & Website Publication
For my Graphic Design Senior Project at UW-Stout, I chose to address an issue that I am very passionate about: art education in schools and budget cuts to these programs. Consisting of a series of three poster sets and a website publication (best viewed on a desktop browser), “It Starts With Art” expands off of the goals and intentions set by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and art education. Keeping the powerful advocacy of this organization in mind, #ItStartsWithArt was born with the hope to raise awareness for the importance of art education in schools everywhere, equally funded and equipped with the tools for success.
WEBSITE PUBLICATION
*Scrollable on desktop only
POSTERS
SERIES I
It Starts With Art
This poster series focuses on the benefits of education in music, fine arts, foreign language, and theater, both academically and in personal development. Familiar art-related objects, such as a paintbrush, drama mask, or musical instrument, are frequently used as symbols for their respective art-form, but are often overlooked in terms of their significance. These symbols, and the impact that their subjects can have in the K-12 education system, cast a greater shadow of positive influence than one might see at first glance.
SERIES II
It Collapses With Cuts
This poster series addresses the budget cuts and funding inequalities affecting art education, in addition to the outright lack of these courses in some cases. As depicted in Series I, the art-related symbols return. In this iteration, they are divided and askew– a visual disconnect symbolic of the consequences resulting from budget and funding cuts within school systems, especially toward art-related curriculum.
SERIES III
It Thrives With Funds
This poster series, the third and final campaign, draws attention to the need for equal distribution of funding throughout core curriculum in schools, for the sake of art education. Here, the recurring symbols are no longer posed in a strong, central composition, nor divided and scattered across the page. Aligned parallel between the main headlines, the symbols emphasize the need for balance and consistent structure in school programs, especially within art programs ranging from music to foreign language.
