This week AAA Middle School students in Mrs. Culbreath’s Geography classes visited the Rogers Historical Museum to see the current exhibition Reflections of the Black Experience. The exhibition combines highlights from the 1619 Project, an initiative from The New York Times documenting the 400 year history of African American heritage in North America, with visual artworks created by contemporary Arkansas artists. Kinya Christian, curator of the exhibition as well as one of the featured artists, visited the 7th grade classes prior to their visit to the Museum as a special guest. Both Mrs. Culbreath and Mrs. Christian engaged students in conversation affording the classes to have a much deeper recognition and understanding of the narratives, personal accounts and subject matter represented within the exhibition.
Mrs. Christian explained to the students that her goal for this exhibition is to enlighten the Northwest Arkansas community through education and the visual perspectives of local artists. “Knowledge has the power to eliminate fear. Art is a therapy that can aid in healing the trauma of racism."
Mrs. Kinya Christian is currently organizing a second iteration of this exhibition and has invited the 7th grade students to participate by creating an original work of art inspired by the compositions and narratives they experienced with the Reflections of the Black Experience.
