An unveiling of the artwork,
Project Peace: Confronting Bullying
through Art, will take place on Sunday, March 24, 2-4pm at Antioch
University Midwest. This 2013 artist residency at Mills Lawn School is a
partnership of the YS Village Schools and the Yellow Springs Arts Council, with
support from the Village Human Relations Commission and AUM. February at Mills
Lawn marks a school-wide exploration of bullying and peacemaking with a
culminating work of art that will visit various sites in Yellow Springs before
its permanent installation at the school. The
art will be a triptych of three mixed media works, displaying historic
peacemakers along with symbols and statements of peace. The March 24 unveiling will
be part of a larger reception celebrating the newly displayed Yellow Springs
Arts Council Permanent Collection throughout the first floor hallways at
Antioch University Midwest.
The Project Peace
collaboration utilizes art as a vehicle for exploring social inclusion with youth.
The idea was initiated by local educator, John Gudgel. Through his years as the
YS High School principal, coach, a lead member of the 365 Project, and his
current role as the Mills Lawn school counselor, Gudgel has gained a unique
perspective on the “bullying crisis”. This national issue has been prominently
depicted in the media and is of growing concern to parents and leaders of
youth. Gudgel has been collecting insight through
observations and student surveys related to bullying, harassment and acts of
intimidation at the elementary school. Early planning meetings between Mills Lawn educators
and the Arts Council resulted in a collaborative vision of a project based on
“social justice”, focused not just on bullying but also on productive social
responses to conflict and inequity. Patti Dallas of the Village Human Relations
Commission became engaged in early discussions, and led the commission in
awarding a grant for the project’s execution. This, along with a matching grant
from the Yellow Springs Arts Council, funded supplies and two guest artists,
Allison Paul and Deborah Housh.
Through
Project Peace, identification of bullying behavior is just a starting point. As
the school counselor, Mr. Gudgel is visiting every Mills Lawn class and
providing guided activities such as role-playing, discussion and story telling
to engage students in thoughtful work towards speaking out and resolving
conflicts. Every classroom teacher at the school is pursuing extension
activities to continue the learning around these ideas. The Mills Lawn student
media program, led by Carol Culbertson, produces a daily morning news program
that is further promoting the concepts. A blog (http://projectpeacemillslawnschool.com)
has also been created to document the project and allow for student reflection
and feedback. The in-progress blog made a guest appearance at the YS Arts
Council’s recent member’s exhibit, Art
for Change, during which visitors made audio recordings of their experiences
with bullying.
At the request of MLS
principal, Matt Housh, Project Peace includes the participation of all Mills
Lawn students because active work towards social relationships is essential at
all grade levels. The project encourages students to move through processes of
self-awareness about bullying, towards actions of peacemaking. The guest
artists are introducing younger students to children’s literature about
self-esteem and conflict resolution as well as art historic references such as
Tibetan peace flags and craft activist art. These students are designing
statements of kindness and peace to be integrated into the final art pieces.
Second and third graders are researching Adinkra symbols of West Africa and
their positive associations, then printing their own symbols of peace onto the
finished works. Upper grade Mills Lawn students are researching historic
peacemakers and considering personal traits that made these leaders persevere
in the face of adversity. Some older students are mentoring younger ones.
Through the various school-wide efforts, students are creating connections that
begin with personal experience, then extend to the school level, and finally
project into the larger community. The
goal is for students to gain the skills to become agents for change.
The Yellow Springs Arts Council has expanded its
education program this year under the direction of new Arts and Cultural
Manager, Deborah Housh. Adding to the
long tradition of adult classes and artist presentations, YSAC is now fostering
youth learning through the arts. In addition to the new artist in residence
program, YSAC recently began offering field trips to the YSAC Community Gallery
in downtown Yellow Springs. These are “field studies” led by an art educator
who provides pre-lessons to teachers, then on-site interactive activities that
support student inquiry and reflection about art and artists from their own
community. This summer the YSAC will also offer an art camp for area youth.
Housh, who holds an MA in Art Education, says that the new artist in residence
program being piloted through Project
Peace is based on an in-depth learning model. “We don’t plan to initiate
artist residencies around a particular medium or art discipline, instead we
want to bring artists and educators together to develop rich project-based
learning around a driving concept that is of deep value to the school community,”
says Housh.
The Project Peace works of
art, along with project documentation, will continue to be displayed at Antioch
University Midwest through their upcoming conference, Safe School Climate: Making the Invisible Visible, on May 8 &
9. The conference will include sessions for both parents and educators.
Information about arts educational offerings through the Yellow Springs Arts
Council can be found at www.ysartscouncil.org. The Project Peace: Confronting Bullying through Art blog can be
accessed through the Mills Lawn School website at http://projectpeacemillslawnschool.com.