Kenneth Wayne Alexander, II & RiverArtsFest

Jody Stokes-Casey
Aug 17, 2017
2 min read

Kenneth Wayne Alexander, II NOVI art selections

Last fall, I had an opportunity to apply for a grant through the RiverArtsFest SpecialResourcesFund. It was a straightforward grant process, awarding up to $500 and open to all teachers in our district. I saw it as a great opportunity to bring a local artist into my classroom. I had worked with Kenneth Wayne Alexander, II a little at a local museum and became familiar with his artwork, a style which he calls NOVI Art. His digital surreal landscapes include motion, sound, and pop culture in a way that I knew my students would find engaging and exciting. Even better, Alexander graduated from the same public school system my students were in. He is a great example of a successful young artist from (and working in) our city and someone I knew my students would admire and enjoy learning from.

The grant provided money for an artists stipend and project and display supplies for one hundred fifth graders. We started the project discussing surrealism and symbols. Students were prompted to think about symbols and pop culture references to include in their artwork. Several slides of Alexander's artworks were placed on the class tables and students worked in their sketchbooks to create their designs.

Our school held a special assembly for the fifth graders and members of the Art Club to hear Mr. Alexander talk about his artworks. The students asked great questions during the assembly and were engaged with the art. Afterwards, Mr. Alexander came back to the classroom and met with some of the students. Several students showed him their sketchbook ideas and received feedback from the artist.

When the supplies arrived, each student received a printed photo of themselves, a 14x22" sheet of train board (slightly thicker than poster board), tempera paint, several options of dry media, color paper, and texture and stencil sheets. We discussed the principles of balance and emphasis and students began their projects. They enjoyed making big messes and always cleaned up well at the end of class. With flexibility in seating, students sometimes chose to work in groups in different sections of the classroom floor, at their regular tables, and at individual desks. Students held conversations about their design choices, helped others with creative solutions, and enjoyed the socialization.

When the projects were complete, Mr. Alexander came back to our school to look at the artworks. He even spent several hours writing personal critiques to the Art Club students.

We exhibited the artworks throughout our school. One was featured at the annual district Arts Fest. Another was in an exhibition at a local university and placed Best in Show!

Several students commented positively on the experience of working with a local artist. The project was very special for our school and lower grades were eager to see what the fifth graders were working on in art.

For my teaching portfolio, I used students sketches and descriptions of their artwork's symbolism as a pre-assessment and the final piece with new writings as a post assessment. Here is one example:

Point A (Pre-Assessment)