Throughout this course, we were taught many things in relation to the arts and the connections/impacts it has on our community
Community arts has proven to have a great significance in our school community and this is shown in relation to our mascot renaming and library murals
Crusader Rename
Sacred Hearts school mascot is a crusader, this may have been acceptable when the mascot was first established but as times change people’s views have grown negative towards it. In this project, we were tasked with creating a new mascot for the Sacred Community. However, in order to do so it required a lot of research, understanding, and questioning. It forced us to really think about the meaning behind the name and visuals connecting to the Crusaders. When used for a Catholic school, it causes the community to look hostile towards those of other religions and feel unsafe – which is not the community Sacred Heart strives for, and it in fact goes against the values our school has. Changing the mascot to something that leaves open interpretation such as the animal would resolve many of these issues. Even if that’s the case we must consider the communities input. Asking students questions relating to the mascot was a big part of this assignment. Their input would guide us to understand the influence a new mascot would have on Sacred and get more opinions on the matter which helped in brainstorming ideas.
Working on this project for me was a bit of a nightmare. Groups were randomly assigned and it left me conflicted. I am someone who is very particular about the execution of things, I am very organized and meticulous when It comes to art and the process of creating it. Being put in random groups had thrown me off, e was very unorganized – even though roles were assigned, they were lost as the project continued. Not everyone shared the same ideas – which was expected – and this made coming to a consensus very difficult. Many times communication was also hard and things got lost in translation, which left me feeling dissatisfied with our final product. In the end, I was not fond of randomly assigned groups and it caused me a lot of distress.
Library Commons Mural
The Sacred library is a space where people go to study, do work, or hang out with friends. The lower portion is decorated with student artwork, however, that is where it ends. The majority of the library is blank which leaves room for more artwork and student expression. For this project, we had to design a mural for a wall in the library which is easier said than done. Our school community is all about inclusivity, in relation to the library – a place where many students gather – an art piece would have to include the values of all the students and staff. Curiosity, creativity, and leadership, are three points that were decided as the core of the artwork, along with other acceptions. Because the library is a place for the community we had to interview those who use it and take into consideration what they think is an art and what is a distraction. These interviews gave us insight into the Sacred community and their needs, guiding us in this project with ideas for brainstorming and creating.
In this assignment, we were allowed to choose people we could work with. This was in my favour because I could work with like-minded group members and share ideas without much difficulty. Working with these people meant I could have my ideas expanded on without being shut down and even have them interpreted in different ways I wouldn’t have thought of. Choosing partners allowed for a much easier time and better organization. Once ideas were settled, plans were quickly set and executed with not much hassle.
Design Thinking
Design thinking was an extremely vital step to these projects, as without them it was difficult to pinpoint certain aspects to tackle. Research and gathering intel would give insight into the assignment and the brainstorming allowed us to get out all the ideas in our head out, then pick the best. This was beneficial as opposed to going straight into the final product. In the end design thinking saved time and gave a better understanding of the project at hand.