Aldine ISD’s Art That Moves People Initiative: Bringing Public Art to the Community through Student Creativity and Diversity

Aldine ISD’s Art That Moves People initiative, a collaboration with Houston METRO, has been featured in the May/June 2024 edition of Texas School Business magazine. The program encourages students to design bus shelter artworks that represent their school pride and inspire future artistic pursuits. The contest challenges students to consider how their artwork can impact their community, creating a public display that connects their work to their school campus. Winning designs are displayed in local METRO bus shelters, becoming a permanent fixture in the community and instilling pride in the school while inspiring future artists and exciting the community.

The initiative is a collaboration between METRO and AISD to bring public art to the community, highlighting the rich diversity of the Aldine community and encouraging students to create art that reflects their cultural backgrounds and personal experiences. This program promotes inclusivity and diversity, allowing students to contribute to their community and share their unique stories through art installations.

Kaileigh Newman, Director of Visual Arts at Aldine ISD, emphasizes the importance of this contest in validating students’ artistic abilities, building an arts community, and providing a platform for students to express their cultural identity. Through this program, Newman believes that students will develop skills in communication, teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving.

The competition is judged based on a rubric that aims to showcase the school’s culture, values, and strengths to the community. Students participating in the contest design bus shelter artwork that is installed in their local METRO bus shelters with a focus on engaging a diverse audience on a daily basis.

To read more about this unique initiative by Kaileigh Newman and Bradley S. Kaplan or view examples of student designs visit Texas School Business (Pages 24-24).