Art as Action: Service Learning through Visual Storytelling
At Asociación Escuelas Lincoln in Buenos Aires, the art room is a hive of activity in advance of a public exhibition: notes and sketches are everywhere, completed canvases are organized in stacks, and students are drifting in and out of the room as they seek last-minute guidance to prepare artists’ statements which will accompany their work that is soon to be on public display.
The notion of art being an ingredient in passive consumption is far from the reality of students at Asociación Escuelas Lincoln in Buenos Aires. In collaboration with thought partner Inspire Citizens, Teacher Sara Jacobs has worked hard to facilitate learning experiences that are about deeper reflection and action. (image supplied)
For Sara Jacobs, Lincoln’s high school visual arts teacher, the pending exhibition goes beyond a showcase of creativity. This is a testament to what art can do. “Art has a role in making society better,” she says. “It’s not just about beauty. It’s about action.”
Guided by this belief, Sara reimagined some keystone units that anchor her ninth and tenth-grade art curriculum with the support of Inspire Citizens. Through a framework that blends visual arts instruction with meaningful service learning, students engaged with three distinct community partners: an indigenous rights organization, a nearby ecological reserve, and their own school community. Each collaboration asked students to consider a critical question: how can art respond to real-world needs in our local context?
Partnering for Visibility: Indigenous Voices and Art
The project began with a collaboration with Saberes, a group advocating for indigenous rights in northern Argentina. Their presentation opened a window into the lives of the Wichí and Guaraní people, highlighting the complex challenges of preserving traditional lifeways amidst deforestation, industrial agriculture, and social marginalization.
Raising a healthy level of discussion around rapid cultural erosion, students were guided and inspired by staff members who shared from their lived experiences. (image supplied)
“The students learned about maternal healthcare, nutrition, and the impact of environmental change on semi-nomadic communities,” Sara explains. One group went a step further: upon learning that a Lincoln staff member was Guaraní, they interviewed him to ensure their representation was accurate and respectful. “They wanted to create something that was authentic and meaningful — not stereotypical. That extra layer made a huge difference.”
The student artwork depicting the cultural erosion caused by urbanization included subtle yet deliberate symbolism — a reference to substance abuse, an issue raised in their interview. While Sara admits she initially questioned the choice of imagery, she was persuaded by the students’ research. “It came from a lived experience. That mattered.”
Seeing What’s Here: Nature as a Classroom
The second partnership brought students just steps beyond campus to a small but ecologically rich nature reserve on the Rio de la Plata. Once they made the short trip to the Reserva Ecológica Vicente López, students documented the native flora and fauna, learned from conservation staff, and identified pressing threats to the local ecosystem.
Students offered surprising observations and reflections on local points of issue: A small train has a substantial impact on the wildlife of an ecological preserve as depicted in this student rendering. (image supplied)
While plastic pollution remained a visible concern, Sara pushed her students to go deeper. “Plastic is a global issue, but I asked them: why should our local audience care?”
The results were imaginative and precise. One group, designing for younger audiences, created a cartoon-style painting showing a beloved local train disturbing native birds with its noise. Another striking piece addressed the damage done by neighborhood cats to endangered bird species. The depiction contrasts a local bird variety in bright plumage against shadowy feline figures which dominate the overall space. “They made artistic decisions with the audience in mind,” Sara reflects. “It wasn’t revolutionary imagery, but it was grounded, purposeful, and personal.”
Looking Inward: The School as a Community Partner
The third and most introspective collaboration focused on Lincoln itself. Students heard from the head of student support about diversity and inclusion efforts — and the challenges that remain. “We’re a very diverse community on paper,” Sara says. “But students talked about the continual challenge to narrow the gap between what’s promoted and what’s experienced.”
Inclusion and empathy are just two of the themes that emerge as students are guided on a journey of service through visual storytelling at Asociación Escuelas Lincoln in Buenos Aires. (image supplied)
In one striking portrayal, students painted vibrant student portraits, overlaid with a black-and-white magnifying glass — symbolizing a deeper look beneath the surface of school life. Their message was clear: inclusion doesn’t always mean belonging. Most valuable to Sara is the uptick in empathy in her students expressed as they reacted to lived experiences of their peers.
“They noticed that students with disabilities, for example, are included at school but often excluded socially,” Sara shares. “That kind of insight came from both reflection and lived experience.” Sara notes that there remains a tremendous amount of work to be done in order to shift the broader norms. “True inclusion beyond the borders of the classroom is much harder to achieve,” she adds, “but it remains something that Lincoln is deeply committed to.”
The Role of Inspire Citizens
For Sara, Inspire Citizens provided essential support — not by dictating content, but by elevating her vision. IC co-founder and facilitator Aaron Moniz was central to this process. “Aaron was a thought partner,” explains Sara. “He helped me push the ideas further and keep the project grounded in what was feasible. That balance between ambition and practicality was key.”
Sara is particularly pleased with the outcome of the public exhibition. Provoking thought and dialogue is what makes art actionable, she explains. (image supplied)
Through coaching and frameworks provided by Inspire Citizens, Sara found new ways to connect students with local issues — and to give them artistic tools to respond meaningfully. The resulting public exhibitions magnify the impact by provoking thoughtful dialogue and prompting a shift in mindsets. “Adding service makes what we’re doing actionable,” she says. “It’s not just about making art — it’s about doing something with it.”
What Comes Next
Though Sara won’t repeat the exact unit next year — she alternates between 2D and 3D art — service learning isn’t relegated to the background. Her next initiative involves a printmaking class run as a pop-up social enterprise in collaboration with a local cooperative garden. “They’ll design, produce, and sell their own work,” she says. “And the profits will go back to support the community. It’s art with purpose.”
As the paint dries and the exhibition looms, Sara knows not every student will leave transformed — at least not right away. “They’re still 15 and 16,” she muses. “But we work with a highly privileged student body. If even a few of them come away more empathetic, more aware — that’s a win. That’s how we change the world.”