Students at The Heritage School in East Harlem recently exhibited the products of year-long art projects in Macy Gallery.  Their larger-than-life papier-mâché, wire, and cloth covered creations depicted victims whose plights go unrecognized when surrounded by figures representing the blind, deaf, and silent.  Students' decision to express themselves in such a political manner came in response to the unexplained detainment of a classmate from Guinea who was held at a Pennsylvania detention center for six weeks when suspected as a potential suicide bomber.

"This is not an unusual experience in adolescent art," said Professor Judith Burton of the program in art and art education.  Burton, who helped found Heritage in 1997, further added, "If they've been empowered with skills to work with materials, they can speak out and say things that adults would much rather not hear."

The article, entitled "An Art Class's Lesson in Politics," appeared in the August 25 edition of the New York Times.

Published Friday, Aug. 5, 2005