Project Open Door (POD), a free college access program for urban teens is housed in the Rhode Island School of Design's (RISD's) Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design. POD supports not only the artistic development of students attending public high schools in Rhode Island's urban core cities of Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket but also their access to and retention in higher education, increasing their chances to succeed in art and design.

 

Participants of project Voice were asked to share their personal experiences in facing or being subject to intolerance. Intolerance is defined as “not tolerant of others’ views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one’s own”. The students soon realized that they, like everybody else have been “programmed” to have prejudices and stereotypical thoughts, to one extent or another. Students began to pay closer attention to what things are said and heard in their environments. While students began to think more closely about the perspective of others they agreed to take responsibility for the intolerance that exists among students by creating unique sculptures. Each sculpture deals with an issue of intolerance that the student has chosen. Please read the artist statements to better understand the students' intent.

This community of RISD Project Open Door artists, who appreciate their individuality and respect each other for their differences, have brought forth their voice. This group of students represents only a small percentage of the school, therefore the sculptures have been installed as an opportunity for the students to share their ideas and concerns with the larger school community. We hope that students who may have had similar experiences with intolerance will feel they are not alone. Prejudice is no ones fault but it is everyone’s responsibility.

Why do I feel so trapped?
My original plans were to strap my sculpture in slag words, but because of the explicit nature of the language it was not permitted in the school environment. So I strapped my sculpture to cardboard with chicken wire.

The message I am trying to tell you with this sculpture is that everyone should stop and look at him or herself and see they are hurting people. Hurting people physically and mentally known as “bullying” is wrong. Taking a moment to think about if you are doing there things to someone can really make a difference for you and that person. I chose this perspective as apposed to two people punching each other deliberately.

Hang Man
Hang Man represents the average human being. He shows how everyone is restrained in their own way, in many ways. Whether its work or the expectations of others or ones self. Restrained by society, no one or at least most people do not realize that most of the things they do are for the satisfaction of others instead of oneself. This is mostly found in Middle/ High School students who try to be something they're not and therefore restraining their true selves.

Our Sculpture is about a drag queen. We wanted to show how sometimes a boy’s feminine side could be forcibly suppressed by the views of society.

Our Art piece is two gay guys holding hands. They are proud to be gay. And don’t care what anyone thinks. We made this to let people know gay couples are everywhere, and because there is no face depicted in our sculpture they can take on the identity of anyone. A person is a person whether they are gay, straight, bi, or transgendered. The message is to not discriminate against any human being.

We made this sculpture with the intent to bring awareness to the extreamatics of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is not to be taken lightly simple because this is what it could result in (A teenager resorting to suicide.) Any bullying at all could eventually result in trauma. Our sculpture has also provided resources for students experiencing bullying to get help.

 

To read more about the process and Voice curriculum please visit RISD' Fleet library or VOICE: Empathic Perspective Taking in the Art + Design Studio is avaiable for purchase here: http://www.blurb.com/b/3255193-voice

This thesis study focuses on the development of an innovative art course focused on alternative perspective taking, and on an initial evaluation of its feasibility. The primary research question this thesis explores is: Is it possible to create a teaching and learning environment that encourages alternative perspective taking in the visual arts and contributes to improving students’ attitudes and reducing prejudicial behaviors? This thesis focuses on: (a) an exploration of the process of developing a new visual arts course focused on alternative perspective taking; (b) initial reactions to the program from advisors, colleagues and students; and (c) challenges I encountered in the initial stages of implementation. The course design and its implementation have only been tested with a small group of twelve students. Thus, its generalizability to other student populations is, as yet, unknown. Initial findings for this study, however, confirm the need for such a course for the adolescent population. The students I worked with demonstrated that, if given the opportunity to voice their opinions through art while taking responsibility over the prejudicial nature of their school, they will rise to the occasion. The implications of this study suggest that a course such as this, could in other similar contexts, prove to be a worthwhile endeavor for any group of adolescents.