Main Menu

Explore More

Bullis SchoolK-12 Private Co-Ed College Preparatory Day School

Social Transformation Through Art and Activism

Bullis Magazine > Article

Social Transformation Through Art and Activism
By Stacey Roshan, Former Director of Innovation and Educational Technology
Studio Art students

All Studio Art students gathered for an in-school field trip in the Studio Theatre for the opening Zoom session.

If you have traveled abroad, you know the power of such an experience to deepen one’s cultural awareness. By seeking to understand other people’s perspectives and journeys, we gain tremendous empathy. These opportunities can lead to impactful personal growth, and yet we are often limited by challenges that get in the way – physical travel is not always possible and language can be a barrier to deep understanding.

Through the power of virtual connection and art, we can create some pretty fantastic opportunities to foster this type of rich growth. Our Upper School Visual Art students had just that chance through a virtual artist-inresidence program–Social Transformation Through Art and Activism–with Njabulo “Jay” Hlophe, a talented visual storyteller born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Art transcends language — it’s “a form of expression that can reach an audience through visuals that words could never hit on. Utilizing this skill and form of language to communicate a message is extremely powerful.”

Art is a powerful mechanism in which design and text help provide an opportunity for artists to have a voice. The idea to have a virtual artist exchange originated from the two wonderful virtual exchange experiences that Sherri Watkins, director of publications and design, led in the previous school year along with EDU Africa. “My vision is to forge true global connections through virtual programming,” said Sherri, “for the same reasons that we would embark upon global studies travel for its transformative experience.”

In partnership with the Studio Art faculty, Angela Swadling and Alice Shih-Kahn, Sherri helped coordinate a virtual mentorship for students with Njabulo. In a month-long virtual exchange, students were inspired and mentored by Jay to:

  • learn about the artist’s personal journey;
  • get insight into Jay’s process, preparation, and motivation for making art; and
  • receive mentorship and feedback for their culminating project: the POWER of text & image.

Throughout history, artists have taken on many roles in their society: activist, social critic, and social commentator. In order to provide students with an authentic experience, they worked in small groups and created zines that addressed relevant issues. At Bullis, the Visual Art Department encourages students to develop their visual voice and engage in meaningful art-making. This was an opportunity for students to collaborate and participate in a project that promoted their global citizenship.

In partnership with EDU Africa, and sponsored by a grant from our generous Parents Association, Upper School Studio Art students had an opportunity to see art used as a form of expression to speak out, uplift, and affect change.

“Through the virtual artist exchange, I have gained a sense of culture and creativity that I would not have been exposed to where I live. I have learned how different and unique art is for everyone and how they are influenced from where they live. Jay brought a sense of unique energy that radiated even virtually and not everyone is as lucky to have such a bright character as their artist exchange.” Josslyn Schain ’25

Virtual Connection and Ongoing Feedback

Flipgrid provided the platform for students to interact with the artist in between live sessions.

Flipgrid provided the platform for students to interact with the artist in between live sessions.

By now, it is safe to say that we all have experienced Zoom as a powerful tool to connect. Clearly, we leveraged the power of this technology to hear from and communicate with Jay. But Zoom, alone, was not enough to create the type of personal connection to student artwork, their process of development, and the type of feedback we were seeking to provide students throughout this experience. Students used Flipgrid to share their progress and receive suggestions from Jay and for next steps over the duration of the project.

The opening Zoom allowed students to ask Jay questions and participate in a live chat. After an introductory session, students had the chance to further engage with Jay in their assigned groups, to tell him about their project briefs, and receive individualized feedback from him. This informed the direction their projects took. But more than just the feedback, students were able to see the overlap between issues they are currently grappling with and learning about here in the United States and see how these same topics are relevant and playing out in South Africa from Jay’s perspective. This impact is well verbalized by Sophia Heitkamp ’25, who shared, “I think that this project created a great opportunity for global citizenship, and we were able to collaborate with other classmates to address a serious problem. I learned that with art, you can convey and express a message for others to reflect on.”

Based on the things we were learning about South Africa, said Taylor Rosoff ’25, “Some topics chosen for this project were women, hunger, racial injustice—important topics that matter a lot here in America, and it was interesting that Jay has the exact same, if not very similar, takes on these topics as we have.”

After this impactful initial experience, students dove into research and group brainstorming. As their ideas progressed, it was important to give students an opportunity to further communicate and connect with Jay. For this, we leveraged the power of Flipgrid for asynchronous video communication and Google Slides for students to display their work. Since Flipgrid is a threaded video discussion platform, students were easily able to record video updates showcasing their work and describing their goals, and Jay was able to reply back with a video to answer their questions and provide further guidance. Time and space were no longer barriers thanks to this simple tech tool. As Jay powerfully noted, “I got to have journeys with each and every one of the students myself.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Njabulo “Jay” Hlophe

Artist, Njabulo “Jay” Hlophe.

Njabulo “Jay” Hlophe was raised in Soweto and the Johannesburg inner city. He was exposed to many scenes that are familiar with the South African black experience: images of pollution, poverty, sickness, and violence as a result of living in a country that still has a very bad shortage of basic facilities. But with that, he was also exposed to the resilience that is characteristic of black people. (BAZ-ART Organization)

Jay believes that “artwork...becomes more than just a street art mural but a form of positive propaganda that promotes the idea of looking inward within the community when looking for individuals to celebrate.” He writes, “Street art has the ability to have a positive impact on the image of a community as well as the ability to uplift the energy of a community has also spread out to other communities around South Africa.”

 

The Project: The POWER of Text & Image Zine

Never Forget Zine

Never Forget, a Conflict and Peace Zine created by Ava M. ’25, Taylor S. ’25, and Evan G. ’25.

Zines were first created in the science fiction fandoms of the 1930s, taking their name from fanzine, which is short for “fan magazine.” Long before the advent of the Internet, zines allowed fans to create networks, share ideas and analyses, and collaborate on writing and artwork.” (a brief history of zines)

In small groups, students created multipage (5.5 x 8.5 inch) Zines, combining both hand-made and digital elements (using Adobe Illustrator). They had to first choose a topic they were passionate about and create a group Manifesto.

Students were tasked with coming up with a style guide, conducting background research, finding relevant vector images to use in their design, and experimenting with Adobe Illustrator to see how they planned to combine digital and handdrawn components into their composition. The final piece needed to be visually appealing, informative, and research-backed— and include three facts, vector images, and at least one hand-drawn component.

Observing the students’ work, Ange noted, “I enjoyed collaborating with my colleagues and an engaging international artist, as well as teaching students about Adobe Illustrator and seeing them explore a new technology to communicate their ideas.”

While presenting students with their bound Zines, Sherri shared observations based on their projects: “Your work demonstrates that art is a way to stop the viewer in their tracks in a moment of quiet contemplation; art can be a catalyst for saving lives; and art can move a person from a sense of aloneness and desolation to a deep connection and sense of community.”

“This project created an opportunity for people anywhere in the world to rally behind a cause and to reach anyone anywhere because the topics we chose were widely universal or could at least gain empathy from anyone across the world.” Julian Perkins ’24

Final Showcase

Studio Art students install their individual Zine pages

Studio Art students install their individual Zine pages in preparation for the one-day popup show, the POWER of text & image.

As a final showcase, students created both a physical gallery in the Blair Arts Center and a virtual gallery. The power of art as a universal tool of expression and means of expressing desired change was on full display. Julian Perkins ’24 shared that “this project created an opportunity for people anywhere in the world to rally behind a cause and to reach anyone anywhere because the topics we chose were widely universal or could at least gain empathy from anyone across the world.” Upper School students and faculty were invited to a day-long guerilla-style pop-up exhibit of the Zine projects.

In addition to the physical display for the community to enjoy, students created a final Flipgrid reflection for Jay to review. This gave students the opportunity to reflect on their experience – what they learned, what they would improve or do differently, etc. This medium opened up a channel for final feedback and dialogue between Jay and the students. There was also an opportunity to do a final Zoom celebration with Jay and all students.

the POWER of text & image: Studio Art Pop-up Show

What students learned about the world and themselves was particularly evident in their closing reflections. There is unique power in having a chance to understand another person’s journey and lived experience to cultivate one’s own compassion, empathy, and perhaps awaken a desire to affect change or fight for a cause.

“The most fulfilling aspect for me about this entire experience,” said Alice, “was challenging students to ask themselves important questions, find visual ways of communicating their ideas, and their personal point of view. Art can tell stories, it was a chance for them to tell theirs.”

As students reflected on the experience, they highlighted how the exchange helped them gain an intercultural competence and chance to view amazing art from another country. Reagan Schwartz ’23 shared the impact of the project on her own selfawareness: “One thing I learned most about myself is that women’s rights are extremely important to me. I loved being able “I think that this project created a great opportunity for global citizenship, and we were able to collaborate with other classmates to address a serious problem. I learned that with art, you can convey and express a message for others to reflect on.” —Sophia Heitkamp ’25 to interact with an artist from another culture and I am grateful for that experience.”

The POWER of text & image pop-up show.

The POWER of text & image pop-up show.

And it was not only our own students who were transformed by this experience. In a post-project reflection from Jay, the impact of this exchange on him and the connection he was able to feel with our students was also quite evident. The month-long, ongoing conversation and the opportunities it provided to learn about one another on an intimate level will certainly leave a lasting mark on each person who was able to participate in this experience.

“You feel like a proud parent because you’ve watched them deal with a problem, the challenges that arise– they ask for help, you give them advice; some of them listen and some of them don’t; some challenge you—but that’s what’s the magic of it all, seeing that process and seeing that growth in each and every one of them,” said Jay reflecting on his experience.

“I think that this project created a great opportunity for global citizenship, and we were able to collaborate with other classmates to address a serious problem. I learned that with art, you can convey and express a message for others to reflect on.” Sophia Heitkamp ’25


This article is featured in the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of Bullis Magazine.

  • Bullis Magazine
  • Spring/Summer 2022
  • Visual & Performing Arts