Over the past semester, OHHS Art and Design student Tyler-Tuong Tran worked to create an informational brochure for SOS ART. SOS ART began in 2003 as an art exhibit and an art festival with related events and publications concerning issues of peace and justice as expressed by Greater Cincinnati artists. The annual art event grew to include, in addition to the works of established artists, artwork by school and after-school children; also to engage children through classroom visits and workshops. SOS ART has since expanded its various activities through more art exhibits and art events, more workshops and wider educational programs, expanded publications, greater media presence, and more dynamic public engagement, all around issues of peace and justice.

Under the guidance of OHHS Art and Design teacher Francine Gibson, and in collaboration with SOS ART founder Saad Ghosn, Tyler was able to engage in a real-world client-based experience which resulted in an end product that will be shared across the region.

“The Memory Project” is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty.

This year, students in Ms. Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking class at OHHS created 20 portraits for Syrian children who are displaced and living in refugee camps as a result of the civil war raging for a decade in their country, resulting in one of the most complex humanitarian crisis in the world. Many of the children have lived in camps with makeshift tents and shelters for years, being kept alive by donated food from foreign governments and aid agencies. This is the only life many of these children have known.

The ultimate goal of the project is to create portraits to help the children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to act as meaningful pieces of personal history in the future. The project also provides an opportunity for students to practice kindness and global awareness.

This year’s participation brings the total of portraits the students have created for Syrian children over the years to 115! Over the past seven years, Drawing and Printmaking and NAHS students have created over 420 portraits for children in Madagascar, the Philippines, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, Puerto Rico, the Rohingya in Rakhine, Columbia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone.