Dubai: Amidst giggles and guffaws, a group of students prop the still wet, spray painted canvas against a wall on the first floor of the Greenfield Community School at Dubai Investments Park. The 4X4feet riot of colours is the 11th canvas to the existing collection of street art-inspired works that have been enlivening the newly-built school.
The walls, painted earthy orange, are not the only parts that have come alive with iconic portraits and ingenious designs, even the stairwells sport complete canvases as large as 8x8ft. The students are pleased, some admitting that art classes have never been as enjoyable. Entirely believable you could say, seeing that the 11-16-year-olds can’t help but wallow in the experience of using spray cans with abandon.
The sense of abandon has been applied to both creativity and expression. There are canvases of pop art representing ideologies from invention to activism and peace, depicted through famous portraits of Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Einstein, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Aung San Suu Kyi. There are portrayals of urban culture inspired by Star Wars, noted video game character Mario and cultural peace symbols.
For art teacher Michael Rice, the artistic efflorescence is a win-win situation of sorts. He tells Gulf News, “It is the ideal way to be creative and stylise the school environment at the same time.”
By way of explanation, he says this year, the school introduced a new initiative — electives, to give students an opportunity to do various activities apart from the usual extracurricular. The Street Art Elective turned out to be a hit with more than a hundred students signing up.
Since February, the students have created nine canvases.
Influences
“The inspiration for the works has come directly from the students, who, during last year’s art class, looked at works by famous artists like British artist Banksy known for his satirical street art, American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein known for his comic book-style art and other influences from popular culture. The students love creating art with stencils and spray cans; it is an approach to bring a flavour of street culture to the school,” says Rice.
The students’ proclivity towards street art dovetailed neatly with the needs of the newly constructed school. “The walls had to be brightened with artwork,” he says.
Less than six months ago, the walls were bare save for bulletin boards and academic material. Today, the walls speak of issues outside of curricula — peace, pop culture, individualism, Rice says, “Most of their works focus on the International Baccalaureate (IB) Ethos, built on 10 attributes that illustrate the qualities of an internationally minded person. Called the Learner Profile, these attributes are reflective, caring, balanced, thinker, risk-taker, communicator, principled, open-minded, knowledgeable and inquirer. All the artworks reflect these attributes, and are led by students — in concept and design. In doing so, they take ownership of the work, and take pride in their creation,” says Rice.
In effect, the learning is multi-fold. Apart from the immediate techniques of using spray cans, stencils and masonry paint, students also learn to create work that becomes part of the immediate environment — the school’s culture. “Their works are part of everyday life for the students, staff, parents and visitors interacting with the pieces,” he says.
Enriching process
Rice describes the process as collaborative and enriching. The students are imbued with a life-long passion for creativity. Further, he says, “They are picking up design skills that involve large scale artwork. The techniques they learn can be applied to their own artwork and used to create portfolios, especially among students who want to consider art as a serious profession.”
The interest the school’s street art project has garnered has been noteworthy. “It has had a great reception so far. The school hosts several international workshops and the feedback has been positive — visitors love the funky designs,” says Rice.
More works encompassing newer themes have been pencilled for the rest of the year. While the art project has been deemed a success, the initial phase was rife with hesitation. Rice explains that the school was cautious with the idea early on, but after they saw the results, it has been supportive. “Now we are finalising details on the next canvas. It will be an Arabic-themed piece to further cultivate the spirit of the community.”
