Visual & Performing Arts · 3rd Grade · Art History and Critical Response · Weeks 28-36

Art in Our Community: Public Art & Murals

Students will investigate examples of public art and murals in their community or city, discussing their purpose and impact.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Connecting VA.Cn11.1.3
• NCAS: Responding VA.Re7.1.3

About This Topic

Public art is the art students walk past every day , murals on building walls, sculptures in parks, mosaics in subway stations, and painted utility boxes on street corners. For 3rd graders, public art offers an immediate, relevant entry point into understanding why people make art and who it is for. Unlike museum art, public art belongs to everyone in its community, whether they sought it out or not.

The NCAS Connecting standard VA.Cn11.1.3 asks students to understand how art reflects and shapes its context. Public art is a particularly direct example , a mural celebrating a neighborhood's history, a sculpture honoring a community figure, or a painted crosswalk transforming a utilitarian space into a visual statement all make the connection between art and community explicit. In the US K-12 context, this is also an opportunity for civic education , students begin to understand that communities make choices about shared visual environments.

Active learning is essential here because the best resource for this topic is the students' own community. Bringing in photographs of local public art, having students document what they observe, and discussing what messages different artworks send gives students genuine investigative experience rather than abstract art appreciation.

Key Questions

1. Identify examples of public art or murals in your local community.
2. Explain why artists create art for public spaces.
3. Discuss how public art can make a community more beautiful or interesting.

Learning Objectives

• Identify at least three examples of public art or murals within their local community.
• Explain the purpose of specific public artworks by describing the artist's intentions.
• Analyze how a chosen public artwork contributes to the aesthetic appeal or identity of its community.
• Compare and contrast the visual elements of two different public artworks found in their community.

Before You Start

Elements of Art and Principles of Design

Why: Students need a basic understanding of visual elements like line, color, and shape to analyze artworks.

Introduction to Different Art Mediums

Why: Familiarity with various materials used in art helps students identify and discuss the composition of public artworks.

Key Vocabulary

Public Art	Art created to be displayed in public spaces, such as parks, streets, or buildings, accessible to everyone.
Mural	A large painting applied directly to a wall or ceiling surface, often telling a story or depicting a scene.
Sculpture	A three-dimensional work of art created by shaping or combining materials like stone, metal, or clay.
Community	A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common, like a neighborhood or city.
Artist's Intention	The reason or message the artist had in mind when creating a piece of art.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Public art is just decoration that makes places look nicer.

What to Teach Instead

Public art can commemorate history, advocate for social change, celebrate community identity, challenge viewers, and transform how people experience everyday spaces. While aesthetic improvement is one function, treating it as the only function undersells the purpose and power of public art. Asking 'What is this saying?' rather than 'Is this pretty?' opens more productive analysis.

Common Misconception

Graffiti is always vandalism and never art.

What to Teach Instead

The relationship between graffiti and public art is complex and contested. Some graffiti artists have become major figures in contemporary art; some commissioned murals deliberately draw on graffiti aesthetics; some communities actively value graffiti as cultural expression. While unauthorized painting on private property raises legitimate legal issues, the aesthetic and artistic question is separate from the legal one.

Common Misconception

Public art is only big sculptures and famous murals.

What to Teach Instead

Public art includes painted utility boxes, mosaic bus stops, decorated crosswalks, temporary chalk installations, and community-created fence art. When students look for public art in their own neighborhoods, they often find far more than they expected. This broad definition is more accurate and helps students see art as an everyday, accessible practice.

Active Learning Ideas

Gallery Walk: Public Art in Our Community

Collect 6–8 photographs of local public art (murals, sculptures, mosaics, painted utility boxes). Post them around the room. Students rotate with a recording sheet asking: Where is this? Who do you think made it? What message does it send? Who do you think it is for?

20 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Why Put Art Outside?

Ask: 'Why would an artist want their work on a building wall instead of in a gallery?' Partners discuss, then share with the class. Guide toward key reasons: public accessibility, community ownership, visual transformation of everyday spaces, civic identity, and economic value of creative communities.

10 min·Pairs

Design Challenge: Our School Mural

Small groups are tasked with designing a mural for a specific wall in the school. They must choose: a subject that represents the school community, visual elements that would be recognizable and meaningful to students and families, and colors appropriate for the setting. Groups sketch a thumbnail design and write a brief artist statement.

30 min·Small Groups

Fishbowl Discussion: Who Decides What Public Art Gets Made?

Ask: 'If an artist painted a mural on a building without permission, would that be different from art the community chose together? Why?' Discuss graffiti, commissioned murals, and community art projects as different relationships between artists, communities, and public space. No single 'right' answer is expected.

12 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• City planners and urban designers often commission public art to revitalize neighborhoods, create landmarks, and foster a sense of place, as seen in the painted utility boxes found in cities like Philadelphia.
• Local historical societies and community groups may fund murals that depict the history or culture of their town, serving as educational tools and points of pride for residents, similar to the "Wall of Honor" murals in many small towns.
• Street artists and muralists work as professional artists, transforming blank walls into vibrant artworks that can attract tourism and boost local businesses, like the Wynwood Walls in Miami.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Students will draw a quick sketch of one public artwork they observed in their community. Below the sketch, they will write one sentence explaining why the artist might have created it and one sentence about how it makes the community look or feel.

Discussion Prompt

Present students with images of two different public artworks from various cities. Ask: 'How are these artworks similar or different? Which one do you think has a stronger impact on its community and why? Be specific about what you see.'

Quick Check

As students share photographs or drawings of local public art, ask targeted questions: 'What is this artwork made of? Who do you think it is for? What message do you think it is trying to send?' Record student responses to gauge understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as public art?

Public art includes any artwork created for, and accessible in, public spaces , murals, sculptures, mosaics, painted utility infrastructure, temporary installations, and community art projects. It is typically funded by municipalities, community organizations, or arts nonprofits. The defining feature is that it belongs to the public space and is available to everyone without admission.

Why do artists create art for public spaces?

Artists create public art to reach audiences who might never visit a gallery, to celebrate or commemorate community history, to transform how people experience their built environment, to comment on social issues, and to embed artistic expression into the fabric of daily life. Public art can be a form of civic engagement as much as artistic expression.

How does active learning help students connect with public art?

When students investigate local public art through photographs or field observation, discuss what it communicates and who it serves, and design their own community artwork, they engage with art's social function in a concrete, personal way. This inquiry-based approach builds genuine understanding of art as a community practice, not just individual expression.

How can public art make a community more interesting or beautiful?

Public art transforms ordinary built environments into spaces with visual identity and meaning. A mural on an otherwise blank wall gives passersby something to stop and engage with; a sculpture in a park becomes a meeting landmark; a decorated crosswalk signals that a community values its shared spaces. These effects are real and measurable , studies show public art increases time people spend in a space and strengthens community pride.