This dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2022-23 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program. Founded in 1979, ABC is an arts enrichment program for fourth-grade students and teachers that provides quality visual arts education and meaningful museum experiences for more than 500 students each year.
This year’s theme for the program was “Our Community.” Students were asked to reflect on the various way that artists depict their communities and the members in it. During their visits to the museum, students participated in guided tours, engaged in critical thinking discussions, and composed written reflections about the artwork they encountered. After their tours students moved to the studio where they created original works of art inspired by what they had seen in the galleries. Mid-South artist Jared Small’s Last Song served as a point of reference for the students’ first visit where they created self-portraits. Students drew inspiration from Carl Moore’s Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee) when creating their collage landscapes. Teachers extended the learning back to the classroom by leading pre- and post-visit writing activities that further enhanced their students’ creative skills.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art would like to thank the students, administrators, teachers, and parents of the participating schools:
· AspireColeman School
· Alcy Elementary School
· W.H. BrewsterElementary School
· CrumpElementary School
· DunbarElementary
· Fox MeadowsElementary School
· Vollentine Elementary School
