When Talbot Mentors asked the Academy Art Museum to design an anti-smoking project, Constance Del Nero, the museum’s Director of ArtReach and Community Programs, got creative. “I wanted to do something a little more unusual than the standard posters students traditionally make for such projects.” Thinking outside of the box, she came up with an art experience that would allow mentees to simulate the damage caused by smoking.
First, she showed the anti-smoking “creative team” pictures of healthy lungs and smokers’ lungs. Then, using printmaking paper, pencils, markers, charcoal, crayons, tea, and coffee, the kids really got into the project as they aggressively made a series of marks that represented the harm done by smoking. “When the lungs looked sufficiently damaged,” says Constance, “we set them aside to dry.”
Next, the kids cut out a pair of “healthy lungs” from pinkish card stock, then mounted both the healthy and damaged lungs on poster board—and added information about what makes smoking dangerous and helpful ways to get a loved one to quit.
“Having the students actively participate in degrading the lungs put them in a unique position to understand the damage caused by smoking over time,” says Constance. “I hope they were sufficiently ‘grossed out’ not to want to start in the first place.”
Constance has worked for the Academy Art Museum for five and a half years, designing field trips around museum exhibitions, working with area schools and community organizations, and designing special programs for students of all ages.
“Constance really outdid herself this time around. She came up with a powerful project that conveyed a critically important message in a way that can’t be ignored,” says Talbot Mentors Executive Director Natalie Costanzo.
For more information, to make a contribution or to volunteer as a mentor, call Talbot Mentors at 410-770-5999 or visit www.talbotmentors.org.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.