Byron Center — Art teacher Janine Campbell is always looking to inspire her students at West Middle School to create art that sparks change.
She gets to expand those efforts as a Creative Visions ambassador for the 2025-26 school year.
During her term, Campbell will implement two Creative Visions programs — Unique & United and #CreateConnectCare — throughout the year for her students to engage in dialogue about their projects and how they fit into the themes. She also receives access to professional development opportunities, lesson plans and $1,000 for project supplies.
The program runs annually from September to June, with applications opening online in late spring for teachers, administrators, club leaders, librarians and others interested in supporting creativity in their schools and communities.
“I am excited about being a part of this collaborative effort and sharing the experience with my students and school community,” Campbell said. “Empowering students to create work that expresses themselves while helping others is why I wanted to become a teacher.”
‘People-centered art’
Campbell recently assigned the Unique and United theme to one of the art challenges her classes complete throughout the year. Students chose their own style and materials to create work that demonstrated the theme.
Unique & United, part of the Students Rebuild initiative, invites students to create art submissions based on their own identities and on how their ideas can impact their community and the world.
Campbell explained that each piece created or submitted for the program raises a $5 donation, up to $1 million, for organizations worldwide that foster connection and collaborative change.
Seventh-grader Gaby Morrissette painted a watercolor ocean scene inside of a plastic trash bag, inspired by photos she researched of ocean pollution.
“I decided to draw this because people aren’t paying enough attention to pollution,” she said.
Eighth-grader Charlotte Kapenga said art is a great way to “vent your feelings” and connect with a larger community.
“I suck at words, so I make art,” she said. “For the Unique and United challenge, I used watercolor and lined paper (and) was inspired by artist Damien Hirst and his pieces of resin-cured shark.”
Eighth-grader Kiara Pittman admitted she used to hate art class, but the more she practiced, the more she found ways to make pieces about which she was passionate.
“I chose to create abstract digital art with soccer as the subject, because people on the team are unique but they play together united as one,” she said. “I was inspired by artist Choi Jeong Hwa because I liked the repetition of the colors in the work he made.”
Starting mid-January, Campbell will engage her after-school art class to create work to put on display in the spring for the #CreateConnectCare youth mental health initiative, which empowers youth to share their stories and build empathy through creative expression.
The students will also help make clay bowls for the annual Empty Bowls fundraising event, thanks to ambassador funds from Creative Visions.
“Art has the power to change lives and impact communities in positive ways,” Campbell said. “I am excited for my students to create people-centered art this year.”
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