Mentorship provides one of the most valuable educational experiences available to students of any profession.
The University of Memphis is hosting an art exhibit that will focus exclusively on this student-mentor relationship.
"The show is in celebration of the Tennessee Art Education Association's Youth Art Month and will feature U of M alumni who are teaching art locally and their students," said Chandler Pritchett, show organizer and graduate student. "The aim is to really bring the Memphis community together and show what we have to offer."
The purpose of the show is to examine the effects teachers have on their students and vice-versa.
"With typical artists, their progress is defined by their product - their art," said Donalyn Heise, head of The U of M art education program. "Art teachers define their product not only by the work they produce, but by their students and their students' art."
The primary emphasis of the art education department at The U of M is on diversity and inclusive curriculum, according to Heise.
"We teach a comprehensive, modeling approach in the art education department so that our students are not only making art, but they are also learning about themselves," Heise said. "The focus is often on interdisciplinary-type learning that helps artists produce art that relates to other cultures and other artists."
Emily Ruch, a U of M alumnus and art teacher at Overton High School, will be one of the featured artists. She will be bringing two of her students.
"We hope to show the uniqueness of each student's style and how to interpret communication skills inherent to their own work," Ruch said. "We want them to make a statement about themselves and use the skills they've been taught to reflect what they want to say."
Art students, in particular, need as much input in their formative years as they can get, according to Ruch.
"The more mentors a student has, and more importantly the greater variety of mentors a student has, will contribute to a more rounded artist with a broader field of input," she said.
The art education program has grown greatly in the past few years and this partnership with local schools and alumni has aided that growth considerably.
"I believe that we can work to better perfect a model that can reach more students," Heise said. "Through art we can help to make learning more meaningful for those students who might fall through the cracks otherwise."
