2026 Bridge Conference

This workshop equips educators (arts and non-arts alike) with strategies for sociallyconscious art-making and storytelling for high-school aged youth. Through examining ethical considerations in place-based art, we'll explore how to respectfully engage with subject-matter and break down the power dynamic that can exist when creating artwork about others or subject matter outside the artist’s personal experience. During the workshop, participants will engage with challenging topics like cultural appropriation and power and privilege and consider activities for youth to learn and shape the narrative of what makes an "ethical" artist or storyteller. Participants will leave this session with activities that honor the humanity and dignity of an artist's subjectmatter and the confidence to support youth in shaping their own narratives and applying an ethical lens to their storytelling.