2008 Woodie Awards
Art show involves local children
Meagan Birely
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
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The ID 308 Community Engagement class put Visual Voices together.
"The class voted on everything: where to get the money, what to do and so on," said Barbara Hawthorne, a women's studies professor. "They asked the community what they needed, and chose a project from there."
ID 308 allows students to create a service project, collaborate and construct a finished product in one semester.
"It is an incredible learning experience," Hawthorne said. "What good is education without action?"
After changing their initial project idea to the art show, the class collaborated on the best way to get it done.
The students went to various places around the community, volunteering in classes from preschool up to high school.
"We had the kids tell us something about their life, or their favorite thing in life, and they drew a picture," Hawthorne said.
Emily Murphy, a senior anthropology major, was a part of this project.
"The process of getting the art work was a blast," Murphy said. "As a group, we were working really hard and we took a lot of personal time, but how can you go wrong with sitting down with children and coloring?"
The students then had the pictures matted and constructed a board to put all of the pictures on display.
"Most of the kids were really excited that we even cared enough to be there, so it was really rewarding," Murphy said. "The hardest part was deciding on what pictures were going to be displayed."
The goal of the class is to assess community needs and generate one or two ways the students can help the community. The art show was a great service project to accomplish this, according to Murphy.
"Our whole aim was to get children's art work out for the pubic to see in order to show that the communities of Greeley have more in common with each other than they might all think," Murphy said.
To raise the money for the project, the class hosted several fundraising activities.
"They had a bake sale at the beginning of the semester, and they had a McDonalds night where they worked behind the counter," Hawthorne said. "The class earned over $500 to pay for their project."
On May 2, the artwork will be moved and displayed in the University Center for a few weeks.
"I love how the project turned out," Murphy said. "Seeing the artwork at the museum or University Center is great. Creating our display was a process but it really reflects the kids as well as the members of our class. I hope that the people who come and see it or just happen to stumble upon it, are able to learn even a fraction of what we learned from these children."
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