School of Art

‘Race and Art Education,’ a new book by Arizona Art’s Dr. Amelia Kraehe, provides art educators strategies to sustain constructive conversations about race.

This summer Kraehe was appointed as the inaugural the Associate Vice President for Equity in the Arts for Arizona Arts earlier. Kraehe is also a tenured associate professor in the Art and Visual Culture Education program at the University of Arizona School Art. She wrote the book with Ohio State Associate Professor of Art Education, Dr. Joni B. Acuff. 

The book addresses the pervasiveness of racism and provides art educators with a vocabulary and strategies to sustain constructive conversations about race. These strategies help art teachers dispel stereotypes, and challenge biases and fears of differences in the classroom.

>> Buy the Book
>> Kraehe appointed to AVP for Equity in the Arts

Race and Art Education book cover
The cover of “Race and Art Education” features an iconic, untitled 2009 work from artist Kerry James Marshall.

“Understanding the complexities of race in our culture, especially as it relates to educating students of all backgrounds in rural, suburban, and urban school settings, is crucial,” from the authors’ statement. ‘Race is clearly an issue in our society and one that impacts much of what we do as educators. We need knowledge, language, and strategies to assist us as we attempt to address it in our day-to-day professional lives.

“The pervasiveness of racism in the United States implores art educators to build a succinct, explicit vocabulary that helps us speak frankly about the way race guides our work in the field (from pedagogy, curriculum, classroom management, parent interactions, institutional interactions, etc.). Strategies for sustaining constructive conversations about race can help art teachers dispel stereotypes, and challenge biases and fears of differences in the classroom.”

From the publisher … 

This new title in the Art Education in Practice Series addresses issues of race in an accessible style with a focus on classroom practice. There is sparse literature that supports teachers in developing the kind of knowledge and sensitivities about race needed for today’s art classrooms. This book aims to provide a well-informed introduction to essential concepts, vocabularies, strategies, and methods for engaging race and racialized human differences in a constructive, equity-oriented manner. 

Kraehe and Acuff carefully explore topics including how race and racism enter classrooms, and concepts such as unconscious bias and microaggression. There is potential for art education to move us forward in the ways we think about race, and this book includes units of instruction and practical suggestions for doing so. 

Table of Contents 

Chapter 1: Understanding Race and Racism in Art Education: A Journey 

Chapter 2: Race: It’s Not so Black and White 

Chapter 3: Seeing Is Believing: Racism through Technologies of Looking 

Chapter 4: Growing Up in Racialized Worlds: Race and Racism in Students’ Lives 

Chapter 5: Awakening an Abolitionist Mindset in the Art Classroom 

Chapter 6: Anti-Racist Art Pedagogy: Activating Racial Literacy with Students 

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