Page 52 - Journal 89-3 Full

camp. The art instructors wanted students to work in media that would reflect their
community and help them find the projects meaningful, as evident in one student
(S7) explaining how the curriculum “connects to our community . . . the things we
did in art camp are real-life problems and everyday things we use.” The instructors
and the students were able to make the abstract tangible and use folk crafts to be
relevant to life in Appalachia. Teachers and students brought art into their lives,
making it accessible and meaningful through the art camp. Teachers and students
worked together in an interactive art camp that would allow them to share, learn, and
engage with the community.
In the future, some extensions of the program might continue to combat the
arts desert. Additional experiences could include art, dance, music, and theater with
guest artists in the schools. Exemplary examples of outstanding student art should
be matted, framed, and displayed in the common spaces of schools as exhibitions.
These exhibitions might be the foundation of a school art collection. Art experiences
could also enrich the after-school program with students who participated in the art
camp leading demonstrations and giving instruction as junior arts specialists. After
these projects are introduced to students in the after-school program, families would
receive take-home kits of materials to encourage extended familiar interactions.

Conclusion
Displaying the inequity between students’ home locations and high-quality arts
opportunities, an art desert reflects social trends that separate desired art education
and neighborhood. Art deserts have an effect on the development of the community
and student, and art access is geographically uneven. The distribution of local art
opportunities illustrates spatial injustice, an unintended effect of where art deserts
are and are not located. Utilizing guest artists and programming inspired by the
settlement school tradition of Appalachia’s past can provide experiences and
opportunities for students in such art deserts.

References
Alexander, M., & Massaro, V. A. (2020). School deserts: Visualizing the death of the neighborhood
school. Policy Futures in Education, 18(6), 787–805.

Budkeey, S. M., Kiryushina, J. V., & Shokorova, L. V. (2016). Students-designers’ professional
competencies formation by means of folk arts and crafts. International Journal of
Environmental and Science Education, 11(10), 3394–3405.
Cobb, C. D. (2020). Geospatial analysis: A new window into educational equity, access, and
opportunity. Review of Research in Education, 44(1), 97–129.
Cognard-Black, A. J., & Spisak, A. L. (2021). Forging a more equitable path for honors education:
Advancing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. Journal of the National Collegiate
Honors Council, 22(1), 81–114.

Engler-Stringer, R., Fuller, D., Abeykoon, A. M. H., Olauson, C., & Muhajarine, N. (2019).
An examination of failed grocery story interventions in former food deserts. Healthy
Education & Behavior, 46(5), 749–754.

Gibbons, M. W., Brown, E. C., Daniels, S., Rosecrance, P., Hardin, E. E., & Farrell, I. (2019).
Building on strengths while addressing barriers: Career interventions in rural Appalachian
communities. Journal of Career Development, 46(6), 637–650.

50 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators