Students enrolled in IB Visual Arts concluded their academic year with the completion of a meaningful and purposeful project—the production of a portrait of a child from countries such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and Syria. 

Led by Fine and Performing Arts chair Fran Poisson, students in the class participated in The Memory Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and kindness between children around the world through school-based art programs. 

On the backside of the portraits were handwritten messages from the students, as well as photographs of themselves. 

This is the third year that Poisson’s class has participated in the program. “This is a good project, and the kids are all really into it,” he said. “They take it very seriously and take a lot of pride in it.” 

The portraits were sent to the Memory Project after the conclusion of the school year. From there, they will be sent to the individual children. 

See more of the portraits by visiting the Flickr gallery here.