Art education in the United States tends to teach an appreciation for "Western" art styles. Many school and college classes focus on exploring Roman and Greek sculpture and European painting styles, with only a cursory introduction to the art of Asia and Africa. Indigenous art may be relegated to "folk art" status. However, there is more to art than the Western tradition. Teaching your students about other traditions can also be a great way to explore the topics of diversity and tolerance.
Printmaking
In many places, art is considered a normal facet of society. Arts and crafts are taught in the community with the expectation that the younger generation will follow the elders' footsteps. An example of this is the colonial-style art being taught in Amish communities in the United States. Teach your students about printmaking, a practice done all over the world, while focusing on the major types of printing done in the United States during colonial times. Have them make their own "political" leaflets or short picture books while they learn about Benjamin Franklin's printing press.
Asian Art
The art of some countries can seem very similar and it takes effort to learn to differentiate the styles. The Chinese tradition of art uses a single calligraphy brush to paint scenery in shades of gray and black. Japanese art is frequently mistaken for Chinese art but it is very distinct stylistically. Unlike Western traditions, the Japanese do not draw every line in a form; instead, they use just enough lines to suggest the form. Their black line work is much finer, or thinner, than the Chinese and employs a liberal use of color. Use Japanese style line drawing to teach your students the basics of creating form. A modern example of this type of art is manga style drawing. Use the Chinese practice of painting with inks and a brush to teach students shade scales while helping them learn brush control.
Languages
Language has an important role in art all over the world and has been used in art for centuries. In more recent art, words have become an important part of the piece, in the form of spoken word poetry, audio installations and even paintings with meaningful words. Have your students create an installation based around a subject or sentence, for example, "All is fair in love and war." Use words in many languages, in the form of writing on walls, floor and ceiling, an audio or video and in books to create an interactive piece of art.
Cultures
In some areas of the world, traditional arts have disappeared while in other countries you can see new art made in a traditional style, for example "retablos" in South American countries and the "santos" of the Caribbean. Use your students' cultural backgrounds or a recent history or social studies class to teach art related to a culture. Matryoshka dolls, hieroglyphics, petroglyphs, mask making and sculpting are all easy-to-do art projects that have cultural significance.
