The artist has been helping at-risk youth in the South Bronx for nearly three decades, and recently conducted a workshop helping students at Renaissance Public School through art education.
Artist Tim Rollins led a three-day workshop at Renaissance Public School in Springfield, focusing on the work of W. E. B. Du Bois.
Artist Tim Rollins has been helping at-risk youth through art education for the past 30 years, and recently brought his talents to Springfield’s Renaissance Public School.
Rollins spoke with the students about the life of Western Massachusetts native W. E. B. Du Bois, an African-American equal rights activist and teacher, and challenged the students to find their beliefs.
The artist and his students, or “Kids of Survival,” have artwork in over 95 museum collections worldwide, he said. Rollins began an ‘art in knowledge’ program in the South Bronx almost three decades ago, and has seen the effect it’s had.
Alice Swan, 14, works on her Du Bois inspired artwork.
“I think art is the best way to learn math, science, political studies, anything because it’s about making knowledge, it’s not just about the consumption of knowledge and the tests and what not, it’s about creativity and the kids love it,” said Rollins. “My kids in New York, they hated school but they loved art, so I took their love of art and made them love education, and that’s how most of them got into major art schools and colleges.”
Rollins uses an art process called “jamming,” where he or one of the students reads aloud from a text, in this case the work of Du Bois, while other students create art inspired by the text. The students also relate the reading to their own experiences to better understand them.
And although Rollins has been teaching students for decades, he was impressed with the level of focus and passion he found at Renaissance Public School, he said.
Students at Renaissance Public School work on their Du Bois inspired artwork. From left to right: Korey Collazo, 12, Kassandra Velez, 13, Tracey Nguyen, 13, and Damahya Mongroo, 13.
“I’ve been doing this over 30 years and being in Springfield Renaissance school has been one of the most exciting experiences that I’ve had as an educator. It’s an incredibly special school, and the city is incredibly blessed to have the staff and the administration, the leadership, the whole vibe of the place is wonderful and the students have been absolutely fantastic. They’ve been ready to learn. It was a great experience and I’m very happy with the result.
During the three-day workshop at Renaissance, the students all said they enjoyed the workshop, and were happy with the results of their work and the feeling of accomplishment.
“It’s fun, we made our own credo based on W. E. B. Du Bois. We really got to put ourselves into it. It’s our own credo, so it’s what we believe in,” said Alice Swan, 14, of Springfield.
The workshop at Renaissance is also in preparation for a major exhibition, ‘Du Bois in Our Time,’ set for September at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The exhibition will feature more work by Rollins and his students, inspired by Du Bois.
“They get to do their own thing, and it looks like young people’s art, but it was leading to a major work that’s very conceptual, very difficult, very challenging, but they love the process, you can tell. You can ask them,” Rollins said.