Street Art in the English Classroom

 

I'm working on a class assignment in which we take a look at famous street artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy, and then imagine a character from our book becomes a street artist.

Which begs the question, is it OK to expose students to the idea of street art as a respected idea? Where is the line between famous artists like Banksy and taggers who are charged with defacing public property? I can see the line clearly enough, but how will other teachers feel about a street art assignment?

We brought Shepard Fairey in to speak at our school a few years ago, and he was fantastic. He inspired and intrigued the students. His message and purpose were clear, and defacement had nothing to do with it.

So... would you let students at your school do a street art project?