Dunbar’s creative writing classes and art classes collaborated to create an art installation celebrating International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to women honoring their advancement in culture, economic, and sociopolitical accomplishments. 

The project was initiated by PLD Art teacher, Ms. Debbie Eller.

“Mrs. Eller approached me and said she had some art pieces that she wanted to get our students to write a creative piece about,” said one of Dunbar’s creative writing teachers, Mrs. Tara Wilkinson.

Ms. Eller explained that the collaboration between both subjects is an example of “ekphrastic art” in which people respond to visual art by writing a poem or a literature piece describing what they see.

The festival at the Lyric Theatre was described as a celebration for women’s rights and world peace. This year’s theme for the festival is #EachforEqual, which was drawn from the notion of “Collective Individualism”–the idea that people can be both independent and together in groups. As John Dewey famously said in his lecture Art as Experience, “the material of esthetic experience in being human is social.” These theories are what led Ms. Eller, Mrs. Wilkinson, and another creative writing teacher, Mr. Gary Egan, to collaborate and enhance their students’ understanding of art.