Belmont, St. George’s, Grenada – This week marks the six month anniversary of Hurricane “Ivan” and the challenges continue. As educators, the Meridian School in Belmont found itself faced with the challenge of placing events in perspective and guiding the students in ways that would strengthen their ability to cope with going through a hurricane. The idea of “Transcending Ivan “developed. Transcending Ivan is a project that provides an avenue for a different kind of understanding and self-realization by encouraging young students to engage in art activities. “There is a deep and profound sense in which art serves to help us transcend experiences and events in our lives,” says project co-coordinator Francis Francis. The students at the Meridian School were all active witnesses to and participants in this major event in their lives. Painting the images of the hurricane became a means for them to identify and understand what happened. They were able to experience their own strength out of the pain and destruction of the hurricane. The students have produced a collection of intuitive and delightful paintings, with strong attraction to color and a free wheeling association to the storm. “There are many forms of literacy, these days, and it is not simply reading and writing. Confidence in using all forms of communication, including technology, print and the visual arts help the students express their ideas, feelings and viewpoints. They are better prepared to integrate ideas from their own traditions and experiences. We wanted the artwork to be a communication between the artist and the viewer, we needed an audience, and we decided this would be a good way to bring the art to the people”, continued Ms. Francis, “which is how we came up with the t-shirts as gallery concept. The idea is having the students create their own walking, talking, art gallery.” The George F. Huggins Company generously sponsored and provided the students with t-shirts that are printed with their own artwork, including its title on the front and the phrase “ask me a question” printed on the back. The vision for Transcending Ivan is that it will be a three-phased project and this is the first phase. “We are looking forward to the growth of this project and the participation of the business people, community leaders, parents and educators. Students develop an understanding of their work and how it fits into their own lives and into the community. This expands the ways in which the students learn, think and communicate, which will be an asset throughout their lives” says Ms. Patricia White, who founded the nonprofit school in 1998. “Our purpose is excellent academics, moral and spiritual education with the focus on developing the whole person.” In addition to the t-shirts as gallery, the first event of the project is participating in the annual Grenada Art Council exhibition of the children’s original art at the Spiceland Mall in Grand Anse, St. George, which will run from March 17 to April 5. Contact Francis Francis at vfrancis@caribsurf.com or 473-444-3580 for more information.