ARTS LAB: Shape the Story
Explore Raven Halfmoon’s work. Create your own response. Share your story.
Shape the Story brings artist Raven Halfmoon into the classroom through a free video and creative invitation inspired by the exhibition Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers.
Students are invited to explore ideas of identity, memory, culture, and storytelling, then create a visual or written response of their own.
Hear directly from artist Raven Halfmoon as she shares how family, culture, place, and personal experience shape her work and creative process.
After watching, invite students to respond to one question: What stories do you carry, and how do they take shape?
Responses can take many forms, including drawing, painting, collage, writing, or another creative approach.
Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers is organized by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.
Support for this project provided by Art Bridges.
Hear from Raven Halfmoon
Virtual Student Exhibition
Students can share their response as part of Stories We Shape, an online exhibition featuring artwork and writing inspired by Raven Halfmoon’s work.
Participation is free and open to K–12 students, homeschool learners, and youth participating through community organizations.
See how students are responding to Raven Halfmoon’s work and the stories that shape their own lives in the Student Gallery below.
New submissions will be added throughout the exhibition.
Student Gallery
More Resources
Planning for Your Classroom
Use Shape the Story in a single class period or build it into a larger lesson.
A simple classroom experience could include:
- Watch the video.
- Stream on YouTube, or download the video here to watch without ads.
- Talk about the stories, people, places and experiences that influence Halfmoon’s work.
- Ask students what stories or experiences feel important to them.
- Create a visual or written response.
- Submit student work to Stories We Shape.
Teachers are welcome to adapt the experience to fit their students, curriculum, and available time.
Dig Deeper | Elementary | Grades 3-5
Looking for more structure?
Free lesson plans are available for educators who want to extend the experience through guided discussion, reflection, and artmaking.
Elementary | Grades 3–5
Shape the Story: Discovering Who We Are Through Stories
Students explore how artists use stories to communicate identity and community before creating a visual or written response inspired by their own experiences.
Download Elementary Lesson Plan
Lesson plans include connections to Oklahoma Academic Standards in visual art, English language arts, and social studies.
Dig Deeper | Secondary | Grades 6-12
Looking for more structure?
Free lesson plans are available for educators who want to extend the experience through guided discussion, reflection, and art-making.
Secondary | Grades 6–12
Shape the Story: Exploring Identity and Storytelling Through Contemporary Art
Students explore how contemporary artists communicate identity, heritage, and personal experience, then reflect on the stories and communities that shape their own perspectives.
Download Secondary Lesson Plan
Lesson plans include connections to Oklahoma Academic Standards in visual art, English language arts, and social studies.
About Raven Halfmoon
Raven Halfmoon is a contemporary artist and citizen of the Caddo Nation whose monumental ceramic sculptures draw from Caddo history, family, identity, and her experiences as a First American woman.
Her work brings together personal and cultural histories while exploring how stories, materials, and place can carry meaning across generations.
Visit Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
See Raven Halfmoon’s work in person by visiting the exhibition Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers, on view Nov. 18, 2026-May 24, 2027, at Oklahoma Contemporary.
ARTS LAB: Field Trips combine guided gallery exploration with hands-on art-making and are free for all schools!
