Michael B. Schwartz
"Making Public Places Sacred Spaces"
"Making Public Places Sacred Spaces"
Community Arts Education
Community Engagement, Arts and Education
Mr. Schwartz has been leading arts and civic dialogue projects since 1983. He connects ecological, community and education needs with dynamic group visual arts projects. His multi- disciplinary dialogue based approach to visual arts projects promotes responsibility, stewardship, leadership, team building and self-esteem. In addition to transmitting technical knowledge in the visual arts his pedagogy includes collective decision-making and group aesthetics.
Read about some past projects:
Mapping Philadelphia
Threading Our Cultures: A Cross-cultural Story Cloth
Collective Imprints
Arts Genesis
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Mr. Schwartz is on the
Arizona Commission on the Arts and Tucson Pima Arts Council Rosters
"The Teaching Artist Roster identifies and promotes high quality artists who maintain active careers as teaching and professional artists,
and have particular expertise in collaborating with communities and schools to engage individuals in learning experiences in, through,
and about the arts. The Roster is a juried, panel-approved compendium of Arizona artists representing all artistic disciplines.
Click on the icons below to find out more.
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"When teaching I encourage critical, creative and poetic thinking. The arts develop aesthetic sensibilities, sharpen perception, promote investigation and reward experimentation. The arts remind us that all things are inter connected. I believe that the arts must play an active role in our communities and neighborhoods. The art room is a cultural resource center, museum and hotbed of civic dialogue. "
Group design involves conversation, trust building and consensus.
" I encourage students to think about their classrooms and schools as an integral component of the community. From this point of view we can examine our many cultures, physical and social structures from a unique and exciting vantage point. I utilize a mix of popular education methodologies, enriched with a commitment to the multiple intelligence, organically allowing the magic of the arts to enhance every area of the curriculum with out diminishing the intrinsic or traditional values a disciplined approach to fine arts teaching offers."
Visual Research * Working as a classroom community * Talking about and sharing our work
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Artist in Residence
2007-8 40th Street Artist In Residence Program, Philadelphia, PA
2004-8 Kirkbride Elementary School, Philadelphia, PA
2003,4,7,8 Drexel Elementary School, Tucson, AZ
2007 Philadelphia Freedom School, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Featherstone Center for the Arts, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2005 Bok High School, Philadelphia, PA
2005 DCCA, Contemporary Connections Program, Wilmington, DE
2004 Meredeth ES, Philadelphia, PA
2002-4 Butterfield ES, Tucson, AZ
2002 Tucson Southside MS, Tucson, AZ
2000 Urban League HS, Tucson, AZ
1998 Old Pasqua Neighborhood Center, Tucson, AZ
1996-9 Pueblo Gardens ES, Tucson, AZ
1995-6 Richey ES, Tucson, AZ
1998 Miles ES, Tucson, AZ
1993 Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater, Minneapolis, MN
1992 Tucson Arts District Partnership, Tucson, AZ
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Teens Transferring Their Design to a Wall
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Collaborating Organizations Include:
Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Tucson
Jewish Community Center, Arizona International College, Third Street
Kids, Tucson Museum of Art School, Roskruge Bilingual Magnet, Mariposa
Co-Op, LAVA Space, Chew Recreation Center, Spring Garden ES, Eagles
Youth Partnership, William Right ES, Tucson Jubilee 2000 Committee,
Attention Transit Advertising , Native Seed Search, Fourth Avenue
Merchants Association, City of Mt. Holly, NJ, West Philadelphia High
School, Lighthouse Youth Center, Oro Valley Arts Council, Volunteer
Center of Southern Arizona, Americorp, Arizona State Museum, Tucson
Electric Power Co., Hillel, Season for Nonviolence, Southern Poverty
Law Center, YWCA, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Pima Arts Council,
City of Tucson, Suntran, Old Pasqua Neighborhood Center, KIDCO, The
American Indian Association, The Tucson Indian Center, Tucson
Children's' Museum, Arts Genesis, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
Coalition, the Dunbar Spring Neighborhood Association, Women’s
International League for Peace and Justice, University of Arizona, Kennedy
Center’s Imagination Celebration, Prescott College, Arizona Green
Party, Cultural Democracy Magazine, Broadside Magazine, Delaware
Alternative Press, International Council on Adult Education, North
American Alliance for Popular and Adult Education, Newark Arts
Alliance, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Tucson Arts District
Partnership, Central Arts Collective, Student Environmental Action
Coalition, KXCI Radio 91.3 FM, Center for Biological Diversity
"Our Yaqui Culture"
16' x 26'
Location: Old Pasqua Church Plaza
Designed and painted by children in the KIDCO program. This project was a collaboration between the Old Pascua Neighborhood Center, KIDCO, The American Indian Association,
The Tucson Indian Center and the Tucson Arts Brigade.
© 1998 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
"The Old and New Tucson"
12"x 12"
Location: Tucson Jewish Community Center
This mural was designed and painted by students from the Tucson Arts Brigade summer mural camp.
© 2002 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
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"Building Community Mural"
3-5th Graders students at Miles E.S. researched local architecture, designed the mural in the classroom and painted the mural in downtown Tucson. This fantastic example of a consensus based design process was unfortunately destroyed several years ago.
3-5th Graders students at Miles E.S. researched local architecture, designed the mural in the classroom and painted the mural in downtown Tucson. This fantastic example of a consensus based design process was unfortunately destroyed several years ago.
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"Our Yaqui Culture"
16' x 26'
Location: Old Pasqua Church Plaza
Designed and painted by children in the KIDCO program. This project was a collaboration between the Old Pascua Neighborhood Center, KIDCO, The American Indian Association,
The Tucson Indian Center and the Tucson Arts Brigade.
© 1998 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
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"The Old and New Tucson"
12"x 12"
Location: Tucson Jewish Community Center
This mural was designed and painted by students from the Tucson Arts Brigade summer mural camp.
© 2002 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
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"The Busbench Project"
Location: Throughout Tucson
This project matched local businesses with students and teachers
from the Tucson Arts Brigade to design and paint a series of benches.
This one is called "Community Works"
© 2001 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
"The Busbench Project"
Location: Throughout Tucson
This project matched local businesses with students and teachers
from the Tucson Arts Brigade to design and paint a series of benches.
This one is called "Community Works"
© 2001 Michael B. Schwartz/ Tucson Arts Brigade
Eagles Youth Partnership Murals
Location: Richard Wright Elementary School
©2005 Eagles Youth Partnership / Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Michael Schwartz
2005 Eagles Youth Partnership Mural Project: The Inside Story
These images show you the interior of the mural I created at Richard Wright Elementary School in the spring of 2005. This mural is large, the entire first floor, hallway,gym and half the second floor of the school! It is the entire alphabet from A-Z illustrated on the first floor second floor is devoted to mathematics. It took a crew of three people working for five weeks to make this exciting project a success. The Eagles football team came and helped to paint during a huge community arts day facilitated by the amazing people at the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
The first floor has the entire Alphabet from A-Z illustrated.
On the second floor are mathematical themes.
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2005 Eagles Youth Partnership Mural Project: The Inside Story
These images show you the interior of the mural I created at Richard Wright Elementary School in the spring of 2005. This mural is large, the entire first floor, hallway,gym and half the second floor of the school! It is the entire alphabet from A-Z illustrated on the first floor second floor is devoted to mathematics. It took a crew of three people working for five weeks to make this exciting project a success. The Eagles football team came and helped to paint during a huge community arts day facilitated by the amazing people at the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
The first floor has the entire Alphabet from A-Z illustrated.
On the second floor are mathematical themes.
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