Color, Creativity & Meaning Art Heals: Shine Your Light Chalk Festival
Student artists at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (BVT) in Upton got creative for a cause by sharing personal stories through their artwork to help raise awareness of mental health and support teen suicide prevention.
Creating a visual image through any medium can produce physical and emotional benefits for the creator and those who view it. The Art Heals: Shine Your Light Chalk Festival on May 12th was all about the healing power of art. Color, creativity, and meaning were fully displayed as student artists created unique sidewalk chalk murals that reflect their mental health stories on the theme of light and how “art heals.”
Ashlyn Lambert of Blackstone, a junior in Multimedia Communications, said, “The idea of self-authenticity through art was the inspiration for my piece. I wanted to create a gray scale portrait, flowing with color from within to represent a contrast between one’s outer shell and the true inner self. I’m my most authentic self when I’m creating art. I express emotions I might not always let show on the outside. With the theme of mental health and healing through art, I felt it was important to emphasize that being able to communicate how you’re feeling and expressing yourself, even if it’s not through words, is crucial to healing and growing as a person.”
In collaboration with the School Based Health Center, fifty-one students participated in this artistic endeavor showcasing art as a positive way of expressing emotions and diminishing negative feelings and thoughts. During the event, college art students and BVT alumni Alyssa Davis (Painting & Design Technology, Class of 2020) and Annabelle O’Reilly (Construction Technology, Class of 2020) worked alongside the student artists and provided insightful feedback.
It was a beautiful day for this outdoor festival and for the community to view the completed masterpieces during the Evening Chalk Walk. It was an opportunity to connect with others in a shared appreciation and awareness of how art can be used as a strategic tool in the treatment of mental health.
The event was supported in partnership with BVT’s Visual Arts Department, School Based Health Center, and supported by grants from Grafton, Mendon, Milford, and Millville Cultural Councils (Mass Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Councils Program). To view a slideshow of the art, please visit www.valleytech.k12.ma.us/artheals2022festival.
