Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1541528
"An art build is an organizing strategy, unifying action and amazing communication tool." —Bethany Meyer, Oakland Education Association Art Build E s s e n t i a ls M O R E A R T B U I L D S led by David Solnit and his team are scheduled at CTA locals in Natomas and San Diego in January 2026. In many respects these are "train the trainer " events that allow locals to gain the skills to create stunning visuals and messages that can be used in multiple settings. Specifically, members learn how to trace designs that are projected on a wall onto fabric used for ban- ners and other signage, which they then paint. They help with screen-printing in multiple languages, and with mounting finished signs onto sticks. They learn how to assemble and reassemble the banners. San Diego Education Association has held sev- eral art builds with great results. "In April and May we had pickets at 125 sites — our signs got a lot of honks, energized our membership and fostered solidarity," said SDEA Secretary and campaign organizer Sarah Darr. Darr was a presenter on the recent Solnit webinar "Arts Organizing to Win" (bit.ly/CTA_ArtsOrganizing). Of course, the messages communicated on the signage are critical. Other webinar presenters spoke of how their locals came up with powerful, effective messages. • Berkeley Federation of Teachers' Julie Searle sug- gests forming an organizing team and choosing a strong, easy-to-understand message based on a framework that includes "the battle of your story " — including the conflict, characters and imagery. BFT 's clear, meaningful message for one cam- paign: "Love our jobs but can't afford them." • Oakland Education Association's Bethany Meyer says members worked together to cre- ate slogans such as "Public Schools Are Not for Sale" and "Fight for the Schools Students Deserve." " When they saw 'Public Schools Are the Heart of the Community,' the community understood what we were fighting for," she says. The messages endure: " These signs are hang- ing up in classrooms across town." Based on your story and message, create simple, appealing designs and offer easy prep to paint and build, says Searle — everyone can participate in the fun, uplifting art build and can take home patches and posters to help spread the word. Meyer urges locals to "make the art special to where you are — the local flavor and culture." "An art build is an organizing strategy, unifying action and amazing communication tool," Meyer says. "We tracked member and community participation by site like any other action. We used it in our escalation plan to gauge participation and readiness to strike." 34 cta.org Feature