Tiny Protesters Have Big Impact

Crescent students and staff walking through the hallway to the Dining Hall over the past several weeks have paused to take in a colourful display of Grade 5 sculptures. The handmade figures, constructed from wire, tape, plaster and wood, stand about eight inches tall and each one is holding a protest sign, giving the project its name: Tiny Protesters. 

The project, which took place over the span of six weeks, was taught by Lower School Visual Arts teacher Julie Brown. “It’s spread out over many classes,” she says. “But when it all comes together and the boys can see the finished product, that’s when things click.”

“To begin, the boys learned that tiny protesters—children—can create change,” says Brown. “We looked at Greta Thunberg's influence on young people around the world and the history of protest signs.” They got a crash course in graphic design and communication, learning how distilling a message and visual to its essence can help viewers understand it in just a few seconds. They also drew on their human form studies to understand proportions when building their sculptures. 

The boys built their wire forms on a wooden base, added tape to give the figure bulk, and then finished with a layer of plaster then paint. They also tackled the challenge of designing a poster with a graphic and a message. “They start with a couple of ideas in their sketchbook and identify the social justice issue they want to use,” says Brown. “I challenge them by asking, ‘How do you use a limited space to communicate a powerful message?’” Giving and receiving feedback is also a key element of this project. “In the creative process, you're always modifying. You should always be critiquing your own work.”

“The end of the project is a bit of a lightbulb moment,” says Brown. “They see what they've been working towards in their own sculpture.” When viewed together as a collaborative piece, she says, it's even more impactful.