A mural painted in collaboration between Clarke Middle School students and local artist Broderick Flanigan hangs in the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art located in Buckhead, Ga. CMS students painted a mural reflecting on the theme of brotherhood and community and what it means to them. “I think that (brotherhood) is somebody else helping another person to help them succeed in life,” CMS sixth-grade student and project participant Newell Paul said. Photo courtesy of Amanda Locher
Clarke Middle School students partnered with local artist Broderick Flanigan to represent ideas of brotherhood and community through art.
A small group of Clarke Middle School 2021 summer enrichment program students worked with local artist Broderick Flanigan and his program Helping Art Reach Public Spaces to create a project where the students painted what they believe brotherhood to be.
The artwork is being shown at The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art located in Buckhead, Georgia until Nov. 6. With brotherhood and community as the theme, local artist Broderick Flanigan believed that building a good relationship with the students in order to create this project was vital.
“It took a couple of sessions for them to warm up to me and some classroom management, but the students were excited to participate and eager to paint on the mural and share their expressions,” Flanigan said.
Throughout the painting process, students were given the space to concentrate on the theme without judgement for any mistakes made.
“We got to paint a different part of (the mural) every day and if we messed up the teacher said it was okay. No one got mad because all we had to do was just paint over it,” CMS sixth-grade student and project participant Newell Paul said.
“Whenever I see (my art in) the spaces that it’s presented in, there’s always a sense of accomplishment and inspiration. When I see the students’ art in those spaces, I feel like it’s amplified because of the process it took to get to that point.”
— Broderick Flanigan,
local artist
According to Flanigan, after working through the process of creation with the students, there was an especially rewarding feeling when seeing their work displayed..
“Whenever I see (my art in) the spaces that it’s presented in, there’s always a sense of accomplishment and inspiration,” Flanigan said. “When I see the students’ art in those spaces, I feel like it’s amplified because of the process it took to get to that point. Being in a community is not easy, but at the same time, when (community is achieved), the results can be amazing.”
