The drum is a common musical thread found around the globe. Coffee can drums are a low-cost and fun foundation for a multicultural art project in which students decorate their own drum to represent a specific culture or design scheme. Magazine cutouts, scrap cloth, artistic renderings and colored pasta all add flair to a coffee can in its transformation into a drum.
The creation of masks is another multicultural art project idea suitable for a range of artistic abilities and grade levels. A celebration of Halloween, Día de los Muertos or other ritual ceremonies can acknowledge American, Mexican or African cultures. The level of difficulty can accommodate different age groups. For example, smaller children can create masks from paper plates, while older students with advanced artistic abilities can create masks from clay or a mold.
Japanese culture is thick with traditions that allow for artistic interpretation. Though origami itself is an art, the form can be expanded on in an origami doll project that can be created by elementary and secondary school students. On a simpler level, Kokeshi dolls are minimalist figures that can use a basic origami as the body. Elaborate dolls with facial features and clothing patterns created from complicated origami shapes provide Japanese art project options for older students.
The activity of painting not only is employed in nearly every culture but also can provide a medium for portraying different cultures. Painting can fulfill the requirements and needs of numerous cultural art projects. For example, students can not only paint a picture portraying Native American life but also paint from the perspective of a Native American or in the fashion Native Americans painted.