Empowering Identities: Students Navigate Art and Social Justice Through Personal Expression

This semester, students in Experiencing Art & Social Justice, a class led by Professor of Studio Arts Terry Lenihan, created an outdoor exhibition showcasing identity pieces around campus. The project was empowering, vulnerable, and important, for each individual and their surroundings.

For the students, the exhibition presented a way to engage with themselves, their classmates, and their environment. By presenting their pieces in outdoor public spaces, students not only navigate their own identities, but invite others to partake in a shared experience of empathy and understanding.

For Lenihan, that element of the project is mutually beneficial for artists and viewers. "We make art to communicate-to connect. Art is a form of self-expression, but it is incomplete until people see it and respond to it."

The themes and values reflected in the art ranged from meditation to self-acceptance, all with one thing in common: the artists channeled parts of their identity extremely important to them. For Riley Broughton, a sophomore sociology major, her project reflected how she expresses love to the women in her life. "A lot of people have words of affirmations as a love language, but for me it's vulnerability and how I can intertwine that with art."

One of the most beautiful parts of the project was how students found ways to incorporate their classmates into their pieces, reflecting a deeper connection explored because of the task. In Broughton's piece, she offered students the opportunity to write love letters to themselves. "Sharing on that deeper level allowed for others to see me in a way that's not at the surface," Broughton said. "It's really beautiful and helped me be more comfortable sharing a part of myself. A few people came up to me telling me how much they appreciated my project."

Other pieces encouraged similar group participation, and asked participants to consider what it means to engage in art as both a creator and spectator. For example, in a piece by Sam Byergo, a film and television production major, classmates helped create the work by adding beads to the piece, signifying the introduction of his time at LMU as a new and important part of his identity.

Finding these connections is made even more valuable when considering the wide variety of experiences and interests of the students in the class. According to Lenihan, "the majority of the students in this class are not art majors, but they have taken on the challenge to create an ambitious, site-specific installation piece about a topic as personal as their identity."

At its core, the task transcends a traditional classroom setting and is a testament to experiential learning which is at the heart of so many of the courses offered within LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts. The projects, regardless of the specific approach of each one, serve as a vivid reminder of the unique stories we all carry and the transformative power of sharing those stories with the world.