Voices of Change
Posted by George SeferidisOn June 7th, the Unquowa School showcased a conceptual art show, Voices of Change, at Robert Valle Designs in Bridgeport’s Arcade Mall featuring exemplary works from 18 seventh and eighth-grade students. As a final collaborative humanities and art project, students were challenged with the opportunity to connect art and a personally relevant social issue. The powerful student work was the result of a trimester long interdisciplinary project. Additionally, it was the culmination of historical, analytical, and creative thinking skills cultivated by our two departments throughout the year, as our students have been analyzing conceptual art in the field starting last fall in New York City and in the spring at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
Unquowa’s humanities program is founded on the premise that middle school students can think critically and creatively about the world around them, and that they can meaningfully participate in the global dialogue. Students make meaning by studying global culture and participating in it. In visual arts, students are tasked with using artistic principles and media to elicit a truth about themselves or their world. This collaboration between the arts and humanities is a natural vehicle for students to pursue these rich tasks and contribute to the larger conversation in an authentic way.
Voices of Change featured works that discussed issues such as school gun violence, income inequality, ecological issues, teen suicide, and racial bias. With over 90 guests in attendance, students and faculty engaged in meaningful conversations about the art and the topics they presented. Art is a powerful and empowering conduit of empathy, and we, the upper school art and humanities faculty, are so proud of the hard work and thought that students put into this project.
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