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Andria Segedy|Savannah Morning News

Visual arts teacher Daria Collins approached her K-5 students at Garden City Elementary School with age appropriate language to encourage them to create art for a local Black Lives Matter art installation.

I tried to use different lenses for different grade levels, she said. With K-1, I presented the Black Lives Matter topic through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s 'Dream.'I felt like it was important for that grade level because it is what they are learning in social studies.

In art they are learning to draw through observation, she said. She wanted them to understand that people with different skin colors could be friends. They drew a white hand and a brown hand and between those hands was a heart which they could make any color.

The assignment is part of the Beach Institute African-American Cultural Centers #BLM exhibit in partnership with Savannah Chatham County Public Schools, according to Beach Coordinator Jenny McCord.

Open to students and teachers in the public schools, 12 schools participated, eight teachers submitted their own artwork, five schools submitted artwork from students, and there was a total of more than 35 submissions, said Rosemary Dodson, visual arts teacher specialist for the school district.

Starting Tuesday, visitors can see the installation at the Beach Institute from noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Regular admission applies. The installation will eventually be put on the website at beachinstitute.org.

The #BLM installation was chosen, McCord said, because we tried to combine the two, Black History month and black Lives Matter. …. coming off of all of the unrest this summer it felt like for Black History Month, celebrating Black lives at a Black museum would be appropriate.

The assignment, according to McCord:Artwork should reflect the importance of Black and brown lives, influences, and culture in our community throughout history.

As a liaison between teachers and Beach, Dodson said she let the teachers come up with how they wanted to present the topic to students.

We had a lot of teachers participate with their own personal views on Black Lives Matter, especially since it was so virtual it was hard to get work from students because they were all working at home, Dodson said. Some students did create art for the project virtually and either dropped it off at school or transmitted it electronically.

McCord said the artwork that will be on view includes two sculptures. The rest are drawings or paintings, crayon and weaved fabric.

Brock Elementary School sent an ice cube portrait series, McCord said. Its so fabulous. A pencil drawing of ice cubes from 15 different students at Brock Elementary. It brings me joy, the ice cube art. I love little kid artists.

For grades 2-3 at Garden City Elementary, Collins was showing them African-American artists as professionals. We had a lot of gentle conversations, how in the media African Americans are often shown in a negative light, portrayed as angry or violent…

The book I Am Everything helped her change that narrative as it shows Black peoplein a positive light with an emphasis on diversity, multicultural skin tone, multicultural hair styles. Encouraging an interest in drawing diversity.

For students in grades 4-5, Collins highlighted Black artist Kehinde Wiley, who creates 19th century paints of Black people in what traditionally would be whit people in fine period clothing and fancy jewelry. He changed the agenda by showing Black people in a positive light, she said.

More: Savannah history re-visited through the eyes of civil rights icon W.W. Law

Noting that she has many Black and Hispanic students in her class, she said, My students looked at the poses from that time period and drew themselves in that position.

These kids made the effort to get their pieces to the schools. It is a lot of extra work right now … it shows they were dedicated to have their pieces in the exhibition, Dodson said.

Collins also created her own art submission called Human. It shows a young black girl in conversation with a hummingbird, and the hummingbird in conversation with the girl. I really wanted to normalize African-Americans, and once again try to change the narrative. I wanted to show African Americans are just as curious, as worthy, as beautiful as any other.. …I wanted my artwork to symbolize equality and justice for all.

The hummingbird, which is know for flying in the path of an infinity sign, reminds her of hummingbirds she saw as a child visiting Jamaica. I used that flight pattern to send the message African Americans are worthy and to be infinitely heard and received. … That is a message African Americans need to hear today. Its important to have that conversation in a different way.

Sharonna Ray, K-5 elementary art educator at School of Humanities at Juliette Low, was working on a group project for students but their working virtually from home kept them from adding to what became Cotton Candy, A Very Sweet Dessert.

I had already planned out the execution for my piece, she said. II had already started the initial layers. So it was due to a lack of time. I was going to have them be a part of it, adding the layers to it. When we became virtual, I had a deadline. I didnt want to throw something together and deviate from my original plan.

She said she had a discussion with the students in regard to Black Lives Matter and just going back to how to bring about change, she said. It doesnt take violence and anger for your voice to be heard.

Andria Segedy is the news submissions coordinator for Savannah Morning News. Contact her at asegedy@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @andria_segedy

If you go

What: #BLM

Where: Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center, 502 E Harris St.

When: Starts Feb. 2, noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays

Cost: $10 adult, $7 students, seniors, military

Tickets: beachinstitute.org

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Beach Institute teacher-student art reflects importance of Black and brown lives - Savannah Morning News