Volunteering in Shenfeng Village, Hubei Province, China
Volunteer Art Teacher, Yingshan County Elementary School
During my spring break, I went to Shenfeng Village in Yingshan County to volunteer as a guest teacher at the local elementary school. The fellow teachers and I brought art supplies to the class and taught the 4th grade class the basics of acrylic painting, color theory, and color mixing. The theme of the class was 你好春天 (Hello, Spring).
Art education is a rare occurence in the village schools. The students were filled with joy and excitement at the opportunity, and we held extra classes after school so they could continue to paint. The class was even featured on the local news network.
Mural Painting
As part of my volunteer project, I also worked on a mural that was centrally featured in the town. In the mural, I focused on showing the beauty of the natural scenery and agricultural lifestyle of Shenfeng village. I worked with the villagers to make sure that the mural reflected the feelings of the local inhabitants, and on the last day, students from the local area came and joined in on painting.
The economy of the village has been weakening due to urbanization, and now they primarily focus on tourism for their source of income. The mural was conjunctively conceived with the village as a way to boost their cultural value and their economy.