Franklin Students Explore Art and Culture Through Lived Experience

Franklin’s philosophy is that all young people are artists, and we strive to open doors, both metaphorically and literally, through which their artistic expression can emerge. In both individual and group settings, we utilize our facilities and those in our surrounding area to engage students in the connection between the arts and culture.

Often, students take on interdisciplinary approaches to finding that connection. In grade 10, History students chose a colonialist image and were challenged to create an original artwork that usurped the power dynamics in the image—an approach not often taken. “Ideas and ideologies of power, otherness, and cultural invisibility are typically not traditional subjects taught in an American classroom,” said Dr. Ann Denkler, Lead Humanities Teacher. Our grade 9 Studio Art students each chose a contemporary artist with whom they have an affinity and, in examining the work of their chosen artist, discussed the artist’s process and transdisciplinary interests. As research for their project, the entire grade visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Students will finish the unit by creating an artwork of their own, inspired by their chosen artist.

Art Teacher Kaela Chambers says, “Students are taking their own lives and imbuing them into the practice of an artist that they relate to. Every project that students work on at Franklin requires them to bring something of themselves to the art.”

Lannah Bonavita ’27 selected artist Aliza Nisenbaum, a painter who focuses almost all of her portraits on her Hispanic culture. Lannah says, “Nisenbaum strongly believes that to fully capture something in your art, you must have a strong connection and understanding of it.” She decided to paint a photograph taken last summer at a birthday celebration that brought her whole community together and celebrated their unique cultural traditions. “There is so much meaning in this picture, and I can’t wait to give it even more meaning in a piece of artwork,” says Lannah.

Through Franklin’s Visual Arts program, our students are challenged to draw on their cultures and life experiences to guide them in their work, and throughout the year, our students have developed a deeper understanding of the connection between art and culture—and a myriad of other subjects.

FRANKLIN CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

To celebrate International Mother Language Day, we gathered for an informative event designed by our World Language Teachers. Students read poems in Spanish, English, French, and Mandarin and were accompanied by student musicians on violin, guitar, and trumpet. We were joined by dancers from the local Jersey City community, the Liying Dance Team, and a Flamenco dancer. The event culminated in a lunch, where students shared food from a range of cultures.