Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) seeks ways to help students recognize the importance of relationships of all kinds in their own lives and to promote healthy, respectful relationship values. A primary way to communicate this powerful message is through art, and specifically, in “Paths to Renewal: Teaching, Leading, and Healing through Art,” an interactive virtual exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

The exhibit features artworks chosen by  student docents from UMMA’s permanent collection, and commemorates SAPAC’s 25th anniversary.

At U-M, learning inside the classroom is only a part of a student’s overall educational experience. Students maximize their educational experience when they are able to synthesize their classroom knowledge with the knowledge they gain from interacting with others, participating in student activities, and accessing a wide array of experiences

“Paths to Renewal” seeks to create an opportunity for a different kind of learning that would, optimally, encourage students and other viewers to reflect on their own histories, and the ideas of others, and to bring those reflections to bear in thinking about art in new ways. Through collaboration, a deeper reflection can be attained, and therefore, an opportunity for a deeper learning experience.

A main goal of the exhibit is to provide a platform to showcase the exceptional talents of U-M students. The short reflections, written by UMMA student docents for each artwork they personally selected, provides background information about the selected artwork and thoughtful interpretations of how each piece of art relates to teaching, leading, and healing, while encouraging viewers to arrive at their own impressions of the work.

ART CREDIT: Above artwork and homepage — “Charity” by Tyree Guyton (1994), acrylic on masonite. Gift of the Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection.