Artwork designed not only to impress but to motivate. That’s exactly what the Department of Environment was looking for when they decided to launch a new education program for the protection of the Marine Parks.
They commissioned the creative and talented students in the B-Tech Creative Arts programme at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre to create a series of posters. They had no idea, the caliber of work they were going to see from this remarkable art class.
When the Cayman Life TV crew showed up, students were presenting their work to their clients. The presentation involved describing the development process and what inspired them at each stage along the way. They also shared the techniques and strategies they tried and finally, the finished product. Representatives from the D-O-E were more than impressed.
Timothy Austin, Deputy Director Research and Assessment at the Department of Environment, tells Cayman Life, “The posters are absolutely phenomenal in terms of the artistic interpretation and the guys and girls have really taken an amazing slant on that.” Mr. Austin says he is thrilled with the incredible artwork and powerful messages.
So is his colleague, Croy McCoy, a Senior Research Advisor at DOE. “These kids really took it on board and delivered a message that I myself still find amazing. It’s been a real good journey to see these kids excel in that area.”
The goal of the course is to give students an important lesson in life. They work directly with real clients on a real campaign and it gives them a glimpse into what will happen in the real world when they get older.
Art and Media teacher Claire Musser explains it is completely different than the art that the students did in high school because they have to work for a client and to a creative brief. She says “Straight away we asked them to create their own spin on things, count their own ideas, bring in their own thoughts and we just take it from there”
While there may be nothing more nerve-wracking than putting your efforts out there for criticism and approval, learning how to accept feedback and how to incorporate that input into your work – is a lifelong lesson that will pay dividends professionally and personally.
Student Andrea Herrera says she had reservations at first. “I thought it was going to turn out really bad actually, but my teachers were there to guide me through the whole time, they give me some ideas and it just turned out really well.”
Her fellow student, Terek Stewart says he learned a lot about himself along the way. “It was a lot of fun, I did a lot of experimenting trying to find my style of work and I think I found that.”
To sum it all up (in the words of Art and Workskills teacher Sarah McDougall)…
“These posters have really blown us away. It’s been an absolutely vintage year for good work and top results.”
Congratulations to the CIFEC Art Program at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre for receiving the Cayman First Classroom of the Month award for April 2018.
