Facing the era of globalization, culturally responsive art teachers must recognize that students' home culture, including local artistic expression, is inevitably influenced by global forces. They should strive to engage with students systems and issues of globalization and its impact on their community culture and art. In this article, the author considers the promises and challenges of today's culturally responsive art education and suggests applying micro-ethnographic inquiry to facilitate college students' exploration of art and culture while cultivating a critical local-global consciousness. She explores approaches to culturally responsive teaching, and describes how student interviews with professional artists helped foster appreciation for local culture in a global context. (Contains 2 figures.)