ARTWORK
Courtney Dookwah
ARTWORK
ARTWORK
ARTWORK
ARTWORK
COMMUNITY ART PRACTICE
I recently completed my BFA in Art Education at Concordia University. During my studies, I worked in the elementary school environment, facilitating weekly art workshops; I facilitated weekly programming at the Student Parent Centre and a homeschool community for children ages two to fourteen. I also coordinated and planned group exhibitions, and completed two summer artist residencies to grow my professional practice. I facilitated educational arts and cultural workshops through institutional community partnerships and my work at the Mindful Campus Initiative.
01
Printmaking
Creating self-portrait prints for a class portrait series.
Materials: crayola washable markers, recycled styrofoam and plastic, pencils and newsprint.
02
Kindness Cafes (Lesson Plan)
A lesson plan designed for a group of grade 3 students that intersects contemporary and historical art appreciation, mixed media exploration, math, social sciences, geography, and collaboration.
03
Flying Home (Lesson Plan)
We welcome spring by thinking about the movement of birds and butterflies through migration and connecting to our own lived experiences with multicultural and diverse communities in our neighbourhoods and homes.
04
Lab x Play
Saturday workshops at the Concordia University Student Parent Centre, where the space is transformed into an art lab for students to explore materials and themes that invite curiosity and play.
05
Outdoor Learning
Creating land art, maps, paths and nests with sticks and leaves to carry our work from the indoor studio to the outdoors. Making time to explore and play together, appreciating our artwork and making.
06
Sketchbook Binding
I facilitated a series of maker demo workshops to create mini sketchbooks for artists' outdoor fieldnotes.
I have facilitated multiple sketchbook binding workshops with children and adult populations in schools and community settings.
07
Mindful Community Corner
Every Tuesday in the EV Junction outside of the Zen Dens, I served tea, fresh snacks and offered self-led mindful practices (QR code).
The mission was to talk with students about the mindful campus initiative and simply create an environment for community building and dialogue. I designed this program to drive program adoption and attendance for the many events happening on campus each week.
We reached hundreds of students.
08
Student-Centred Learning
When I work in a community with a diverse population and age range, I get to know each student and work with them individually on projects that interest them. I always come prepared with a few project plans and many materials, knowing some students will want to go their own way. I've had participants as young as four create their first animations through a self-directed practice. My role is to ask questions to guide and encourage the process of making by simply supporting and encouraging their curiosity and growth.
