Sanaz Mazinani is an artist with a background in political activism who uses art to inspire dialogue about perceptions of cultural identity. In the latest episode of Art School, she describes her current art practice. Using online media focusing on world news and pop culture as her source material, she creates symmetrical photo collages and videos that abstract familiar images and invite viewers to reconsider visual culture and its meaning and influence on public opinion and social justice. In this episode of Art School, she describes her current art practice and the intentions behind her recent installation at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

In the second video Mazinani expands on the intention of traditional of Islamic ornamentation.

Kelly Tunstall and Ferris Plock are artists who focus on character design and development, creating a rotating cast of surreal cartoon figures inspired by visual culture, including fashion, skateboarding, Japanese regalia and folklore. They emphasize organization while maintaining freeform, both of which lead to the consistency in how their art turns out.

In this video from August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand the playwright discusses the influence that the blues has had on his writing. The clip also features a performance from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and commentary from several theater scholars.

Ever since there have been babies, there has been a need to carry those babies. The cradleboard is art meets science and function for parents and children. This unique design was made for easy transport and care of a child.

In order to practice conducting, you need an orchestra! Learn about what it takes to become an orchestra conductor in this video from Treasures of New York: Juilliard. At Juilliard, the world-famous performing arts school located in New York City, students have the opportunity to work with musicians to hone their conducting skills.

“No Hablo Español” explores the conflicted cultural identity of a Latina high school student who can’t speak Spanish. Playwright Rosa Estevez explains why parents born in a Spanish-speaking country might prefer English for their children. People behind the scenes describe the play’s fresh pathways for discussing cultural identity, the importance of authenticity and language, and the role of the dramaturg in advocating for the playwright. The play was part of the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Learn how the National Theater conceived a new version of the iconic Balcony Scene in this behind-the-scenes mini-documentary about the making of Great Performances: Romeo and Juliet. During the ongoing shutdown of London due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Theater created a compelling hybrid of theater and film that brings an exciting contemporary perspective to the play.

“Shakespeare’s potential for reinvention is endless,” said director Simon Godwin. “Over 17 days of filming, the company was united by a sense of shared exploration. As well as being given intimate access to the thoughts and feelings of characters, we were able to bring to life remarkable, forgotten spaces at the National Theatre. Desire, dreams and destiny came together to make Romeo & Juliet sing in an entirely new way.”

San Francisco's Ben Venom creates punk quilts for everyday rockers who want to be cozy, as well as quilts that are a little less functional and sit more comfortably in a framed-art context. Venom takes his inspiration from the historical and social aspect of quilting, and particularly the Gees Bend community of quilters in Alabama, who are highly regarded as some of the most significant contributors to African American art history.

Bill Rice recalls how German soldiers began surrendering towards the end of the war in Europe. He also discusses how his platoon was involved in liberating prison camps in Germany in this video teaching module from the KACV's local perspective on "The War."

In Los Angeles, jam skaters draw from a community and culture built over generations at Venice Beach and at rinks across the city. Over the past year, roller skating hit the mainstream as a safe and relatively accessible pandemic-era pastime, its international popularity bolstered by people recording their shaky progress on social media. Skates were sold out for months, and skaters have become major influencers on Instagram and TikTok. But longtime skaters are quick to remind everyone: This isn’t a fad.

Blend phonemes and practice long "i" sounds with NYCDOE Universal Literacy Reading Coach Anna Scretching-Cole. Students will practice blending and reading with the long "i" sound with a focus on the "igh" and "-y" spelling.

When it comes to corn, Indigenous people have long known the benefits. Host Dr. Lee Francis of Laguna Pueblo discusses the health benefits of a classic Indigenous staple food: blue corn mush. What makes blue corn blue? Why is ash added to traditional blue corn mush? What makes it so healthy?

Andrew Branca, a high school student from Central Academy of Technology and Arts, in North Carolina talks about how he was inspired to write Boal after attending a summer theater workshop on Brazilian theater activist Augusto Boal. Cast members discuss what it was like to collaborate on the playwriting process and why they felt it was important to start a serious discussion on racism and Islamophobia.

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Dancer Amit Patel is reinventing Bollywood dance and making space for queer expression in the South Asian community. At 10, he began Bollywood dance training with Mona Khan Company and later started contemporary dance. He realized he could express himself outside of Bollywood’s traditional male roles. Today, he teaches "Bollywood Heels," a mix of Kathak gestures and jazz performed in 5-inch heels.

Inspired by James Brown and the Black Panthers, the Black Resurgents are one of the dance crews who pioneered Oakland's boogaloo dance, the foundation of many other funk styles. However, their cultural contributions are little-known outside of the Bay. Meet these veteran dancers passing on their tradition to a new a generation, bridging the gap between boogaloo, pop-locking and turf dancing.

Oakland, California, home to the Black Panthers, also birthed the pioneering funk-driven freestyle dance Oakland Boogaloo, characterized by strong hits and poses. In the late 1960s and 1970s, before the emergence of hip hop, the city’s African American youth took inspiration from James Brown, the Temptations, Charlie Chaplin, cartoon characters, and sci-fi robots, and created a repertoire of original moves like the “Dime Stop,” the “Hit, the “Mack Pose” and “the Ditallion.” Youth in nearby San Francisco and Richmond soon developed variants of boogaloo, respectively known as strutting and robotting. Today, these techniques are collectively known as “the funk styles,” owing to their development during the funk era. Despite its pioneering status, Oakland boogaloo’s cultural contributions are little-known outside of Bay Area dance circles.

Examine the robust options of today’s gig economy, including part-time and temporary jobs, freelancing, and side hustles that can contribute to successful, rewarding careers.

Success in one’s career depends on much more than just earning good grades in school. Help increase learners’ workforce readiness by building strengths in key interpersonal skills, such as problem solving, leadership, communication, teamwork and collaboration, and critical thinking, using this collection of resources produced by WGBH. The resources can be used to engage learners with media and prompt rich discussion in the classroom and other educational settings.

The collection is currently in development. Browse the initial set of resources—focused on nonverbal communication—and return for new content to be added over time.

Apprenticeships are a win-win situation for both employers and the apprentices. Employers get a talent pipeline of skilled employees, and apprentices earn money while they learn the skills of the trade.

You can find apprenticeships in a broad range of industries: manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, construction, and more. Employers, employer and labor groups, and trade associations sponsor apprenticeships. They often partner with local colleges to deliver the classroom instruction.

Cartography is the art and science of graphically representing a geographical area on a flat surface such as a map. For Indigenous peoples, cartography is more than just topography or mapping locations. For many Indigenous communities, it's about values, culture and traditional understandings.

Meet San Francisco artist Sirron Norris, who discusses his public and commercial art projects. Although he works on projects like "Bob's Burgers," he still makes time to teach a cartoon-drawing class for kids every Saturday. He says that the best part about drawing cartoons is that there's no expectations. He teaches the children this, and that as long as they are proud of what they've created, then what they've created is perfect.