I was personally very thankful to
have been a part of this process. I love the fact that this project benefitted so many individuals and that UNCSA was able to reach out to a community
outside of its own through this mural. I really believe in the saying that
"there is power in numbers", and this project very much illustrates
that concept. By bringing in the expertise of a professional artist (as
wonderful as Kendall) who is based in the Winston-Salem community, as well as
bridging together Dr. Levin's and Dr.
Wakeford’s Paths to the Present classes, and drawing in teachers and
students from the ABS, the entire collaboration brought people of all ages together.
Now, I
know that the mural bears significance to educating people on matters of the
history and philosophy of science as well as on the urban experience, but what
I think it did best was to educate people on
interrelational skills. To be quite honest, as is the case with
undertaking new projects with many people involved, I had moments of doubt
regarding the logistics of the project. During the brainstorming sessions, I
was overwhelmed by the amount of ideas and wondered how it would be possible to
incorporate the different visions of so many individuals. I can gladly say that
there should have been no doubt in my mind that the project would come together
so smoothly and so well. I was really inspired by the ideas of my peers and how
willing so many of them were to pitch in and help, despite our lack of
experience with mural work.
I felt like
Kendall, Dr. Levin, and Dr. Wakeford facilitated
the process very well, where the voices of the students were heard and well
incorporated into the artwork. I was also very thankful to be given a new
creative outlet that is not part of my norm. Aside from the fact that I had to
think of ways to incorporate material I was learning from class into a visual
representation rather than through words (which is not something I am very used
to doing outside of dance--my art form), I was thankfully stretched to be part
of an excellent team. I loved that his project exemplified the value of art in
an academia setting and took advantage of the fact that UNCSA is an art school; therefore, why
not use the arts to educate individuals on the sciences, history, philosophy,
etc.? It allows students to better process new information by integrating it in
a tangible way.
Finally,
I will share my favorite part of the whole experience, but before I do so, I
would like to mention why I am not commenting on the mural specifically. First
of all, I hope that the mural speaks for itself, and that spectators can draw
whatever interpretations they want from it, for that is the beauty of art. This
mural is not meant to be a black and white interpretation of a particular idea,
rather it incorporates so many ideas that I will not even begin to share some
of them in this post. Instead, in addition to the idea that the mural is a work
of art with room for interpretation, my favorite part of this whole project was
the end result.
I really
hope that UNCSA made a lasting and positive impression on the sixth graders of
the ABS, because I know that they made one on me, at least. I was so incredibly
blown away by their mural and I was so grateful for their visit along with
their teachers. I really feel as though this project reminded me of how
universal some things about humanity are, and it made me feel more connected to
the UNCSA community as well as to the Winston-Salem community. What impressed
me was the fact that age didn't matter when it came to making a statement or
adding significance, because in this collaboration there were young students,
older students, professionals, and instructors from all kinds of levels of
education and backgrounds working together to share a message. Everyone had an
opportunity to contribute regardless of their level of knowledge or expertise,
and through the process everyone was given the opportunity to learn and grow in
knowledge and expertise. Overall, I am thankful for the project because it
brought people together most of all and it educated and enriched many people if
they allowed themselves to be affected by it. I hope to be part of another collaboration
like this in my other academic classes outside of my major if at all possible,
and hopefully UNCSA and the ABS will
continue to develop a relationship that will be beneficial to each other and to
the Winston-Salem community.