USN, Friends Life collaborative art on display

The opening reception for "Works in Tandum" is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, October 25 in the Tibbott Gallery. The artworks will remain on display through Artclectic.
By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director
and Emily Holt, Art Teacher

A collaborative, multimedia art project by the Class of 2024 and Class of 2023 is on display in the Tibbott Gallery.

Last fall, the then-seventh and eighth grade students started a bicycle wheel design based on the tandem bike logo of Friends Life, a day program for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students sculpted using found objects, wires, and basket weaving materials from around USN’s midtown campus to sculpt life-size bicycle wheels and Friends did the same. They exchanged wheels, and USN students learned how to add to another’s work without losing the spirit of the original piece. The whimsical wheels include strainers with okra, folksy string designs, and a mirror Trencadís.

“It’s really been such a joyful experience to partner two groups of artists who might never have come in contact with each other and give them the opportunity to know each other better through art,” said Friends Life Visual Arts Specialist Heather Dawn.

Students and Friends later met during a visit to the nonprofit located on Granny White Pike.

"The excitement and joy of viewing each other’s work were inspirational and heartwarming," said USN Art Teacher Emily Holt. “This project has been about learning collaboration, and that people with intellectual disabilities have other abilities to share with the world.”

USN students who participated in the artists collaboration are: Kylee Abramson '24, Ava Adams '24, Sadie Begtrup '24, Betsy Bowles '24, Austin Cason '23, Lia Cohen-Poole '24, Maya Crouvi '23, Maddie Ewing '24, Harry Fitzgibbon '23, Brandon Fonseca '24, Claire Gilliam '24, Jonah Hirt '23, Jacob Horwitz '24, Leah Joseph '24, Alima Kassim '24, Frances McKay '23, Dhruv Patel '23, Margot Ross '24, Jacob Rothman '23, Cameron Thompson '24.

Their works were originally displayed last December during a Friends Life art gallery fundraiser. They are being shared again during Artclectic, USN's annual art show, with an opening reception for "Works in Tandum" from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, October 25. The gallery also includes other artworks by Friends created through the nonprofit's arts program along with their bios.
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USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.