What can I draw for a social justice art project?

Draw a ramp and a flight of steps arriving at the same front door, a round table with no head, a row of microphones set at different heights, or a kitchen tap running clear into a glass.

What symbols represent social justice in art?

Start with scales. The statue of Justice holds a pair, and her blindfold is read as impartiality: the same treatment whatever a person's wealth or power. On this list a level, a megaphone, a ballot slip and a propped-open door carry the idea too.

What are some social justice collage ideas?

Cut scales from newspaper and heap words in the pans, trim a crowd of magazine faces to one size, or add the missing ramp in cut paper to a photo of a real doorway.

How do I make a social justice poster for school?

Let one picture fill the sheet: the welcome mat as wide as the sidewalk, the megaphone pointed straight at the viewer, one word repeated larger each time. Add at most one line of words, in your own lettering.

Social Justice Art Project Ideas – Symbols and Collage

Fairness and balance 14

A bag of oranges shared out into five equal piles Leave the empty bag slumped at one side and count the piles twice. It says: nobody went short.
A balance scale drawn dead level, the same small figure standing in each pan Rule the beam with a straightedge and match the figures line for line. It says: no one weighs more.
A carpenter's level laid across a doorstep, the bubble exactly centered Draw the tube large, the bubble between its two marks. It says: check before you call it even.
A chore wheel with every name lettered the same size, one job each Divide a circle into equal wedges and make up the names. It says: the turn comes round to everyone.
A coin flipped over the center line before a game, both captains looking up Blur the coin with three small arcs and tilt both faces up. It says: chance has no favorite.
A deck of cards dealt around a table, one card to each place in turn Catch the dealer's hand mid-flick, equal fans at every place. It says: the same deal for all.
A game board with every piece waiting on the same start square Crowd the pieces onto one square and leave the track empty. It says: one starting line.
A measuring tape pulled along a row of garden plots, every plot the same width Draw from above with a different crop in each plot. It says: same ground, your own choice.
A pie cut into equal slices, one plate waiting beside each slice Draw from above and rule every cut through one center point. It says: no slice is the big one.
A referee's whistle and a rule book lying on the center spot of a field Set both small in a wide field of grass lines. It says: one set of rules for both sides.
A statue holding up a pair of scales, a blindfold tied over its eyes Draw it from below so the scales sit highest. The blindfold stands for treating everyone alike.
Shoes lined up in every size from toddler to adult, one pair of each Step the pairs up in size along one shelf. It says: the same for all is not one size.
Three stools of three heights, so three kids reach the same sink Rule one line for the three heads, then fit the stools under it. It says: fair is what fits.
Two glasses of different shapes holding the same amount, a measuring jug between them Make one glass tall and thin, one short and wide, and mark the jug. It says: equal can look uneven.

A place for everyone 14

A bench with a gap in the middle, exactly one wheelchair wide Park a wheelchair in the gap between two seated friends. It says: beside them, not at the end.
A city bus lowered to the curb with its ramp folded out Tilt the bus a little toward the curb and draw the ramp as one flat plane. It says: the bus bends first.
A classroom door propped open with a stack of books Spill light from the room across the hall floor. It says: come in, the lesson is yours too.
A door with two handles, one high and one low Draw the door flat on and plain, so the handles are the whole picture. It says: built for two heights.
A doorway wide enough for a stroller, a wheelchair and a walker side by side Draw all three passing through at once with room to spare. It says: width is a welcome.
A playground with a swing platform built to hold a wheelchair Hang the platform level with the ground beside two belt swings. It says: everybody gets a turn.
A ramp and a flight of steps arriving at the same front door Give the ramp as much of the sheet as the steps. It says: two ways in, one welcome.
A round table drawn from overhead, every chair alike and none at the head Space the chairs evenly around one circle. It says: no seat outranks another.
A shop counter with one low section, a child and an adult served side by side Draw the counter as one long line with a single step down. It says: nobody has to be lifted up.
A sign that gives one word three ways: in print, in raised dots and as a picture Stack the three in equal bands and shade each dot so it stands up. It says: read it your way.
A team photo where the front row kneels so every face shows Three rows: kneeling, standing, on a bench. Check that no head hides another. It says: all seen.
A wall of mailboxes, every one the same size, a name on each Rule a grid and letter made-up names, no two alike. It says: each person counts as one.
A welcome mat as wide as the whole sidewalk Stretch the mat from edge to edge and letter one word along it. It says: this means all of you.
One long table built from four different tables pushed end to end Change the legs and the wood at each join and seat someone on every side. It says: we made it longer.

A voice 14

A cardboard sign on a stick, lettered with a line of your own Show the tape, the corrugated edge and brush-wide letters. It says what you write, so write it.
A classroom vote: a shoebox with a slot in its lid and a heap of paper slips Show one slip halfway through the slot. It says: each slip counts once.
A megaphone set down on a stool, its strap hanging loose Point the open end of the megaphone straight at the viewer. It says: your turn.
A raised hand in every window of an apartment block Rule the windows as a grid and vary every sleeve. It says: nobody here is silent.
A row of microphones set at different heights, one for each speaker Vary only the stands and make every microphone identical. It says: the stand moves, not the speaker.
A school newspaper front page with the headline left for you to write Rule three columns of gray lines for text and one empty photo box. It says: students report too.
A show of hands seen from the back of the room Draw only arms and the backs of heads, every sleeve different. It says: counted, not ranked.
A suggestion box by a school office door, one note halfway in Keep the hallway plain and the note bright. It says: someone is meant to read this.
A tin-can telephone, its string running from a small window to a large one Pull the string tight across the whole sheet. It says: a small voice can reach a big room.
A whole meeting leaning in to hear the smallest person at the table Tilt every head toward one point and draw that speaker last. It says: listened to.
An envelope addressed to the town hall, stamped, the flap still open Pull the letter half out so two lines can be read. It says: decisions have an address.
One sheet with a sentence at the top and rows of signatures below Letter your own sentence and scribble each signature differently. It says: we agree, by name.
One small word repeated across the sheet, a little larger each time Start in hard pencil and finish in thick marker. It says: said again, it gets heard.
Speech bubbles of exactly the same size above five different heads Trace one bubble five times and leave them empty, or write your own lines. It says: equal airtime.

What everyone needs 14

A bed with the quilt folded back and a lamp left on Warm the lamp's pool of light and cool everything outside it. It says: somewhere safe to sleep.
A big pot of rice on a stove and a stack of bowls, one for each person Count the bowls out loud as you draw them and add steam in three lines. It says: enough.
A bus pass, a house key and a library card laid in a row Draw them life size from above with hard shadows. It says: three small things that open a town.
A first aid box with its lid open and everything in its place Draw rolls, squares and tubes as plain shapes with no labels. It says: care within reach.
A frosted window with a warm lit room behind it, a kettle steaming on the stove Draw the frost as ferns on the glass and keep the room in warm color. It says: warm is not a luxury.
A kitchen tap running clear into a glass Leave the water as white paper between two thin lines. It says: this should be ordinary everywhere.
A library card held up in front of a wall of books Leave the card blank except for a name line. It says: all of this is yours to borrow.
A lunch counter passing the same full tray to every kid in line Repeat one tray drawing down the line and vary only the kids. It says: lunch for every kid.
A park drawn from overhead: paths, a pond and a lawn with no fence around it Lead every path in from the edge of the sheet. It says: open space belongs to everybody.
A school desk with an open book, a sharp pencil and a window behind it Lay the window's light across the page. It says: a place to learn belongs to every kid.
An open page of blurred print, sharp only inside a pair of glasses laid on it Blur the lines of text outside the lenses and sharpen them inside. It says: seeing comes first.
Five small squares in a row: a tap, a loaf, a roof, a book and a bandage Draw each as a simple icon in one color. It says: the short list comes first.
One roof line drawn over a table, a bed and a stove Draw the roof as a single unbroken line and the three things small beneath it. It says: a home for each.
The same full plate at every place around one table Draw one plate and repeat it six times around the table. It says: nobody's portion is smaller.

Collage ideas 14

A cardboard door that really opens onto a collage of faces Hinge the door with tape down one edge and glue the faces behind it. It says: opened from inside.
A class charter on one long paper strip, each rule glued on in a different handwriting Have each person write one rule on a scrap and paste them in a column. It says: ours to change.
A class portrait where everyone tears a likeness of themselves from one sheet of colored paper No scissors, no pencil lines. Glue the faces in rows at one size. It says: made by us, of us.
A crowd of magazine faces, every one trimmed to the same size Cut each face around one template circle and pack them edge to edge. It says: no face in front.
A large ear cut from a page of small print, handwritten words streaming toward it Cut the ear from the densest text you can find and write the words yourself. It says: listen.
A megaphone cut from black paper with headline words pouring out of it Glue the smallest words by the megaphone and the largest at the sheet's edge. It says: louder.
A photo of a real doorway with the missing ramp added in cut paper Print the photo in gray and cut the ramp from one bright color. It says: here is the fix.
A speech bubble packed edge to edge with words cut from headlines Outline the bubble, fill it like a mosaic and trim words at the line. It says: plenty to say.
A street of paper houses made of patterned envelope linings, every doorway the same size Use one door template on every house. It says: different walls, the same way in.
A table torn from brown paper, with a chair cut from a different pattern for each guest Tear the table for a soft edge and cut the chairs sharp. It says: one table, no matching set.
Paper hands in every skin tone, overlapped like fallen leaves Trace your own hand once and cut it from ten papers. It says: the same hand, every time.
Scales of justice cut from newspaper, a heap of cut-out words in each pan Cut the beam from one headline strip and glue it level. It says: words have weight.
The word FAIR built from letters cut out of four different magazines Pick four letters that match in neither size nor color. It says: different, and still one word.
Your town in torn paper, the library, the park and the clinic cut from the brightest sheet Tear gray blocks for the streets first. It says: these are the places meant for everyone.

Social Justice Art Project Ideas

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