Bullying: Ken-Ton Students Respond Through Art features art projects from the Ken-Ton School District that were designed to confront the issue of bullying. This exhibition will be on view in the Education Corridor at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College through February 1, 2004.

"This exhibition is an ideal way to illustrate how art can be used to address an important social issue, in this case, the problem of bullying in schools," said Gerald C. Mead, Jr., curator of education and outreach at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. "Teachers from this region have once again shown that they are creative and innovative in their methods of instruction in the classroom. We are pleased to showcase their efforts and the work of the students."

Under the direction of art teacher Pamela Frandia Meheran, students from Kenmore East Senior High School in the Town of Tonawanda created paper casts of joined pairs of their hands in a project which encouraged group camaraderie and successfully broke down interpersonal boundaries in the classroom.

"Students who never talked to each other or who never knew each other were essentially 'locked' together for a period of time while the 'casts' dried,” said Ms. Frandia Meheran. "The result of these interactions brought classmates together with some unexpected, and positive, results."

Art teacher Diane Schaefer's third grade students from Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in the Town of Tonawanda constructed multicolored window-like transparencies that incorporated personal statements and responses to bullying. The project was undertaken as a response to an incident that happened in the classroom.

"After discussing what bullying was and what could be done about it, the unanimous decision from the class of third graders is that they did not like it - they did not like being the bully or being victim to a bully," noted Ms. Schaefer. "The change in the children's behavior was immediate and noticeable; the students talked about their feelings and apologized to other students for past behaviors."

Both classroom projects are showcased in the Education Corridor at the Burchfield-Penney through February 1, 2004.

About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, call (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penney’s members.