Kent State University’s School of Peace and Conflict Studies is going to seem a little more peaceful as the school has unveiled “Visualizing Peace: A Work in Progress,” a mural conceptualizing peace in daily life.
The peace piece was commissioned as part of the commemoration of 55 years since the May 4, 1970 shootings, when four students were killed and nine others wounded.
Since October, more than a dozen Canton-area students have contributed to the eight-foot-wide painting. It’s part of their studies with Vicki Boatright at her studio, BZTAT. She said many of the teens have struggled in a regular classroom setting, often due to trauma.
“I have a lot of admiration for their creativity and also their resilience,” she said. “These kids have to work on promoting peace in their own lives every day. They are more acutely aware of what peace and conflict is and how you have to manage a balance of the two."
Boatright prepared and inspired her students by having them study Picasso’s “Guernica” and “Dove of Peace.”
“Arts education gives them opportunities to learn, as well as express themselves, and use art as a way to grow and develop,” she said.
It’s a familiar theme this spring among several exhibitions of student art.
CMSD at CPL
From May 16-22, more than 250 pieces by Cleveland Metropolitan School District students will be on display at the main branch library Downtown. From printmaking to sculpture, the works were created at eight CMSD schools during sessions run by Arts Impact.
“We're not just adding art into a subject, we're actually integrating into subjects,” said Maryanne Hiti, director of programs for the nonprofit. “For example, in a science classroom, … students were learning about fossils. They actually designed and created their own index fossil by using molds. So they understood the process of mold making and what a trilobite actually was through this sculpture that they created.”
Hiti said they also offered dance programs at the schools, and performance videos will be shown during the exhibit’s opening reception on May 17. Shuttle buses will be available to bring people to the library at 525 Superior Ave.
Cuyahoga County student art shows
Other Cleveland library branches are hosting student art through May 8, created through a partnership with Studio Institute. The New York-based nonprofit works with CMSD and Bedford schools and also offers programming for the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority. Lenora Inez Brown, director of the Cleveland office, said it’s their first year exhibiting at the West Park and Memorial-Nottingham libraries.
"You won't see one piece that looks like another, which is really wonderful," she said. "It says a lot to the students, but it says more to the parents that yes, ‘Someone sees my child as I see my child.'"
On Friday, the Cleveland-based Center for Arts-Inspired Learning presents ArtWorks Live!. The event at the Museum of Contemporary Art features live performances and an art market with pieces from students in grades 10-12.
