Members from the WHU Enactus Club have put their ideas for establishing art classes for rural area pupils into practice. On April 13th, the project was officially launched during the opening ceremony at the playground of Xiaogang Primary School in Ezhou City, eastwards of Wuhan. The project received strong support from the students throughout WHU who volunteered to serve as art teachers. The Xiaogang Primary School, as well as the village greatly value the art education of the next generation.
The project launch ceremony
After the launch ceremony, WHU volunteers started to interact with the pupils and gave them art classes, initiating by combining the theme of environmental protection with picture drawing. Starting with a brief introduction of environmental problems existing on Earth, the teachers then encouraged the pupils to become aware of the importance of caring the environment. They used the coffee grinds collected from cafes beforehand as the primary painting material, which precisely demonstrates the idea of recycling. Next they taught the pupils how to use the coffee grinds in painting by using paper, pencil and glue as substitutes for traditional colorful paints.
Pupils also fancied this idea and then quickly began painting. They even collected several kinds of flowers and leaves and applied them to their paintings in an environmentally-friendly way, creating beautiful pieces of art with their amazing imagination. The themes of the paintings varied, including the harmony of nature, landscapes, animals, etc. When asked what the art class was like, Fang Shuqian from the fourth grade replied, “It is tremendous. Drawing is my favorite but we do not always get the chance to do so, especially with unique and interesting materials, and vigorous and tender teachers. Therefore, I fully appreciate these art classes, where we are instructed patiently by excellent teachers and encouraged to draw whatever we want.”
Pupils and their paintings with WHUers
Wang Xuebao, from the School of Electricity, was the project leader. She said the main aim of the project was to provide children with access to art since they neither had access to that nor are capable of finding recycled coffee grinds. “Furthermore, volunteering in such a meaningful project adds to the richness of our campus life. After all, what can be more satisfactory than being with children and doing our best to help them?” added Zhao Zhikai, a volunteer from the School of Computer Science.
Pan Junling, the principal of Xiaogang Primary School, expressed his gratitude for the help of WHU volunteers. He said, “We attach great significance to the cultivation of our students’ artistic ability. But for a primary school located in a remote and underdeveloped village like ours, we unfortunately lack the access to fine art resources. WHUers’ art classes offer a precious opportunity for our school and students. We are looking forward to further cooperation.”
WHU volunteers interacting with pupils
The project in Xiaogang Primary School will go further and much deeper than scheduled, offering more carefully-prepared art classes to the pupils there for more students. This is just the start. It is anticipated that the project will expand its coverage gradually and introduce the arts to children in more schools. We shall rub our eyes and see how WHUers can make a difference in art cultivation for the next generation.
(Photo by Zhou Siyan)
(Edited by: Xu Yumeng, Jessica Wang, Edmund Wai Man Lai, Liu Jiachen and Liu Xiaoli)
