The Carter Blog
Carter ARTicles
The art of collaboration
Aug 26, 2026
Collaboration is a key component of community, and we find ourselves "in community" when we share spaces, characteristics, or goals. Working toward shared goals is the central idea behind Carter Collab, an annual collaborative art-making project between the Carter, students from local schools, and our Carter Community Artists (CCA).
Students work with Carter Community Artist Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello on their Carter Collab project at Rosemont Middle School.
The shared goal of this project is creating a large-scale artwork that will become a lasting piece of our participating school's campus. What makes the design process unique is a collaborative structure that draws inspiration from the Carter's collection, and incorporates ideas and imagery created by students; then the CCA helps merge these into a concept that also shows off their distinctive visual style.
Our goal for Carter Collab is for the campus and students we are working with to be involved from start to finish. Each of our Carter Collab projects are initiated by campus teachers or staff through the Carter's website. For instance, the art teacher from Shady Brook Elementary turned the complaints she heard from students about an "ugly" new security fence around their playground into an idea for an art installation that would make the fence a colorful and fun reflection of their school! The location and purpose brought to mind Stuart Davis's Blips and Ifs from the Carter's collection, as well as the work of one of our CCA’s, Stuart Hausmann, who worked alongside the students.
Students and parents at Shady Brook Elementary work alongside Carter Community Artist Stuart Hausmann installing the art piece, inspired by Stuart Davis's Blips and Ifs and the students' sketches, on the fence outside their school.
Once an idea is selected, we host students from the campus for a tour of the Carter and a brainstorming session with a CCA to generate ideas based on their experience of looking, discussing, and creating during their visit. Our most recent Carter Collab had CCA Colleen Borsh lead students on an interactive sketching tour through the Museum doing collaborative drawing exercises. These sketches became the building blocks for the concept of the finished mural behind their school garden.
Carter Community Artist Colleen Borsh leads students from Bonnie Brae Elementary in some collaborative sketching activities in the Carter's galleries to prepare for their Carter Collab mural highlighting their school garden.
Each school and student group is unique, and our way of working together changes with each collaboration. One of my favorite Carter Collab sessions was during a "fine arts night" on the school's campus where we got to explain to the families attending what the project was all about, and then they could all help contribute to the creation of the work together.
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The final art on the fence at Shady Brook Elementary.
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The final mural at Bonnie Brae Elementary behind the the school garden.
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The finished mural at Rosemont Middle School.
I think back to the dedication for our first Carter Collab mural when we got to celebrate with CCA Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello and students, teachers, and administrators on the last day of school. Sharing stories of our work over pan dulce from the bakery down the street, we were able to admire the visual result of our efforts together and celebrate the relationships we had built as well. Similarly, each Carter Collab artwork has become a proud artistic addition to their respective campuses and communities, each highlighting a unique shared vision and goal between all the collaborators involved.
Are you a teacher or school administrator with an idea for a Carter Collab project? Submit your idea!
