Pictures Paint a Thousand Futures

Those students at Carlyle School are busy as bees, I tell ya. We`ve already followed their involvement in an intergenerational project and their adventures in learning the sport of curling under the mentorship of the TMR Curling Club. This time round the whole school, from Pre-K to grade 6, participated in yet another multi-phased project, this time in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The idea for this project was conceived by grade 3 teacher Judi Ottier, and was further developed by the school administration team and a group of people from the museum. The idea was to explore the diversity of cultures of the students of Carlyle, not only their differences but also their similarities, important because one of the aims of the school is to create bridges towards peace and understanding. What better way than through the universality of art?

No one had ever come up with such a collaborative project such as this before with the museum, so the organizing groups from both places pioneered this effort with much thought. With such a young group involved they basically had to start from square one, which involved a trip to the museum where, in Ottier`s words, nothing went unnoticed, including the “height of the ceilings, the explosion of colour, and the sounds and smells.”

Representatives from the museum visited the school and instructed the students on how to do a quick sketch, then progressed into a workshop demonstrating various drawing techniques. The collaboration continued through to the final stage, where each student was asked to create a drawing based on the theme of animals, and to write a little something about their foray into the art world.

I had the opportunity to witness the culminating moment of the project by attending the Vernissage of all the masterpieces. Now, this was not an event held in the school library or gymnasium...the exhibit is actually at the Museum of Fine Arts...the very same place that the works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and da Vinci call home, and which is currently hosting an exhibit surrounding John Lennon.

I love the energy of being around these students at their events, full of good intention, support for each other, and smiles that light the room. Waiting at the school were four yellow school buses, and at the end of a long day of learning, teaching, and working, approximately 300 students, teachers and parents attended the event.

The Vernissage took place in the more contemporary building, in what is called the Cultural Passage. After a word from museum representative Helene Nadeau, Judi Ottier and Carlyle Principal Joan MacMillan expressed the meaning of the project and their appreciations to those involved. Fifteen students received an award, a scholarship for a one week summer art programme at the museum (one of these scholarships was actually funded by the museum itself)! The attendees were then treated to homemade goodies and everyone took a tour of the large bright space where roughly 170 drawings were hung on the walls. There were animals of all sorts represented, in various mediums, each expressive of its young creator`s individuality.

I chatted with Valerie Doan, a grade 3 student and one of the scholarship recipients. Valerie decided to draw a dragon, a fictional beast expressive of her Vietnamese culture. I asked her how she felt about being recognized for her contribution, whereby she replied that she was surprised, and that she felt she had “done something terrific.” I’ll say, and so have the team from the school who so wholeheartedly give their time to create these special projects for their students.

This was definitely a wisely sponsored event, and once again involved an enormous amount of effort from a lot of caring people. Indeed, the students of Carlyle are likely to evolve into quite the esoteric group of individuals. I remember the special touches of my teachers at Dunrae Gardens all those many years ago, the efforts outside the realm of standard education, and these young minds are sure to remember them as well, and to assimilate them into their adult lives. Once again, I left the event purely impressed and optimistic. The exhibit continues until April 19th.