U School Student Drawings

During the first exhibition of Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence we were honored to have several students from the U School in Philadelphia visit us. Several artists with the project were able to take them through the exhibition and then work with them on a hands on project. Many of the students, probably most, had had personal encounters with gun violence and had lost loved ones to shooting deaths. We arranged for them to have access to a variety of materials and they were encouraged to make a portrait of someone else in their group, themselves (we had mirrors) , a loved one, or just draw what they wanted. One young man pulled up images of his uncle on his phone and was able to tell me many stories about him while he drew. It was a meaningful time of questions and contemplation.

We are grateful to their teacher, Patty Rich, the artists Ann Price Hartzell and Meri Adelman, and to Austin Crenshaw Shelley for providing the materials and the space at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. (She is one of our artists and also a pastor at the church.)

About the U School, from their website: The U School is a new project-based school designed to change the outcomes of Philadelphia youth in college and career (currently only 18% of Philadelphia high school students make it to their second year of college) by giving young people ownership over their learning. We offer students the opportunity to become truly independent learners, while they engage in a challenging college-preparatory curriculum.