A graduate thesis project that explores how art can be used as a tool of empowerment for high school students. Specifically, this project allows high school students to create art in a large public space as a way to engage with the community.

1. Empowering Youth through
Creative Placemaking
Tiva Lasiter
MS Thesis Project: UC Davis Community Development Graduate Group

2. Turning Space into Place
BEFORE AFTER

6. Thesis Project Goals
• Work with high school art students for a high level of participation
• Engage participants in the design process
• Create a place that leaves a legacy of meaning
• Youth voices to be expressed and heard
• Opportunities for youths to gain skills and knowledge

7. Research Method: Case Study
• Group development
• Team building
• Participant observations
• Process tracking through journaling
• Photograph analysis
• Participant interviews
• Pre- and post- participation surveys

8. How is Art used as a tool for Empowerment?
“Public works of art are a form of discourse and open conversations and dialogue.
Such works of art can help communities work toward unity and empowerment”
(Buffington, 2007).
“Public art can help support and even generate community empowerment by
honestly and respectfully depicting a wide range of people's experiences. When we
listen to others' experiences we begin to understand why we should sit down
together and discuss our community life” (McCoy, 1997).
“Public art offers insights into many dimensions of art beyond the expression of self,
the art becomes something larger than the individual and self-expression. Public art
in high schools motivates students, engages them in meaningful learning experiences,
gives students hand-on experiences, increases their self-esteem, and provides them
with a sense of ownership of the created space” (Garber, 2006).

9. My Theory:
Youth will be empowered through the process of creating
collaborative large-scale art that transforms space.
Research Question:
1.How are individuals and communities affected
by participating in public art making?
A. Are they empowered? By what means?

10. Finding and Creating a Partnership with a local High School
“We need a mural! Our site is really ugly!”
-Kate Humphrey, Winters High School Art Teacher
MURAL SITE BEFORE THE PROJECT

11. Idea Sharing and Design Intensive
If I were to choose
what inspires me
most, I would
choose___________.
This inspires me
because__________.

12. Design Planning-
Inspiration and Idea Discussion

14. Mural Design Team Considers Ideas
and Collective Inspirations

15. Site Planning and Preparation Team Learns
How to Assess and Repair a Site

16. Mural Design Team Finalizes Design and Draws to Scale

17. Mural Transfer Team Outlines Design on Surface

18. Painting Teams Begin to Paint Lower Level of Mural

19. We Detail Entire Bottom Portion of Mural

20. Community Members Donate Two Lifts

21. Students Learn
Large Scale Painting Techniques

22. Students Learn Teamwork and Collaboration

24. Student Teams Take Responsibility for Areas of the Mural

25. Students Work Together to Make Decisions

29. Winters High School Art Building
BEFORE

30. Completed Mural Transforms Space
and Creates Place

31. We Commemorate the Completion of the Mural

32. Student Feedback about the Mural:
“I felt empowered to know I helped make something so great, and in
collaboration with my schoolmates!”
“Great experience, definitely something i will tell/show my kids.”
“It was a great experience that I will remember doing in high school.”
“seeing our thoughts being included in the mural”
“being able to put personal material in the mural”

33. “It was fun experience, and I had fun working together with my art
class.”
“everything went well, we had a lot of fun making this hopefully
next year we could do the whole building.”
“This was a really great project and i hope to do something similar
in the future.”
“This was a great project inspiring. Wish it could happen more
around our community. Murals add a beautiful touch of art and
life to blank canvases.”

34. “Very fun experience and I’d like to do it again.”
“i loved it.”
“i really liked working on the mural.”
“I would love to make more murals.”
“Fun.”
“It was cool.”
“Awesomeness.”

35. 74 % Agree or Strongly Agree: Creating the mural was a positive experience for me.

36. 77% Agree or Strongly Agree: I enjoyed working with others on this project.

37. 62 % Agree or Strongly Agree: I liked having a mural artist as a mentor.

38. 66% Agree or Strongly Agree: The mural gives me a sense of accomplishment.

39. 57% Agree or Strongly Agree: I will be more likely to participate in a leadership role in the future.

40. “I do not like all the names written in the swirls. It takes away from the
connection with the message the mural TRIED to give.” –WHS student

41. Students decided to paint out the wind.
They felt ownership of the project and had the initiative to
make decisions and take action.

42. Seven key forms of Empowerment:
1. Building relationships thro ugh collaboration
2. Building self-esteem through accomplishment
3. Leadership opportunities
4. Building skills
5. Creation of a meaningful place
6. A sense of project ownership through decision making
7. High levels of responsibility and accountability

43. The project had many challenges and students worked extremely hard, learned at a fast
pace, and achieved something that seemed almost impossible. Youth created a
meaningful place for themselves and developed strong relationships through sharing
their stories and working together. One student’s comment eloquently summed it up:
“it was worth it.”

44. Thank you!
Tiva Lasiter
tlasiter@ucdavis.edu

45. Recommended Practices
1. Prepare for delays.
2. Have a small group that can be fully engaged together.
3. Spend time on group development.
4. Develop many ways for the community to participate.
5. Create a place that transforms the space and reflects the story of the people and the place.
6. Have two leaders if you are working with more than 15 young people.
7. Have one focused and dedicated project to keep students engaged.
8. Have a balance between process and outcome, as they are equally important.
9. Have guidelines and a project plan but remain flexible throughout the process.
10. Involve the greater community through various means.
11. Have realistic project goals.
12. Collaborate with local businesses, people, institutions and organizations.
13. Students should have a high level of responsibility and be held accountable.
14. Allow plenty of time for securing project funds, preparing the site, group development, and building
relationships.
15. Plan to incorporate a method to give participants recognition.
16. Have an approval process lined up for the mural or community art.
17. Evaluate the process and share the results.

46. Student Learning Opportunities on the Project
• Sharing stories and inspirations, contributing themes and ideas
• Mural design and project planning
• Drawing final design to scale
• Repairing surface cracks and holes, site preparation
• Transferring the mural design to the wall
• Working together in teams
• Team leadership
• Fundraising
• Painting on a large scale non-traditional surface
• How to work in collaboration on a large-scale project
• Basic point and shoot photography skills
• Learning history of mural making and public art
• Participating in evaluation

47. How is Art used as a tool for Empowerment?
• Art is a tool for empowerment because people build
connections through networking, receive recognition, and
foster creativity through art making (Grams, 2010).
• When students play an active role in making important
decisions, especially in an inclusive environment, they are
given the chance to develop self-esteem, empathy, and
dependability. These values foster social justice, rendering art
education a very powerful part of the K-12 experience in
American public education (Turk, 2012).

48. Empowerment:
“The development of individual leadership skills and knowledge
regarding the practice of leadership, and formal recognition by
the community of their newly acquired skills (status) in the
community” (Pigg, 2002).
Social Capital:
“Connections among individuals—social networks and norms of
reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them”
(Putnam, 2000).

49. Youth development:
“The process all young people undergo as they build the individual assets
or competencies needed to participate in adolescence and adult life”
(Listen Inc., 2000).
Youth civic engagement:
“Young people developing the skills and habits needed to actively shape
democratic society in collaboration with others” (Listen Inc., 2000).

50. Community art:
“Art removed from the present
commercial art world and
market systems, not
commodified objects but
contextualized specific, sited
group expression”
(Mosher, 2012).