Westridge School’s Fifth Grade Art Students Explore Topics of Diversity & Equity in Collagraphy Project

In Westridge’s Lower School art, 5th graders have been exploring a new art form called “collagraphy.” Collagraphy is a collage-style print-making process. After ink is applied on top of a collage, pieces of the collage are removed to reveal the art beneath.

As February is Black History Month, Art Teacher Val Trimarchi asked students to read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Their discussion about Dr. King’s speech was used as a starting point for a bigger conversation on diversity and equity. “I think it’s important to have these conversations while they’re young, because the more they are able to talk about it the more they are able to understand other people,” said Trimarchi. “I was really impressed with their hearts.”

Trimarchi showed students a diversity wheel to emphasize the importance of understanding that there are different kinds of diversity, including age, body type, skin color, and physical ability. “Like flowers in a garden, the most beautiful gardens have lots of different types of flowers,” Trimarchi said.

Inspired by the bright, bold, design style of artist and activist Corita Kent, students created collagraphs to express an idea within the broader topic of diversity and inclusivity. Creating collagraphs required students to think outside of the box. Students could use materials such as string and hot glue to develop their creations, but had to keep in mind that whatever they created would show up backwards since they were creating prints of their work. The trickiest part? Writing backwards!

The final collagraphs can be viewed in Burgess Gallery in the Main Hall or Click here to view their artwork!

Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive, Pasadena, (626) 799-1053 ext. 200 or visit www.westridge.org.