Empathize
Students will listen to lived-experience stories, study local context, and create an initial evidence-based response that begins the design process for a refugee-centered art exhibit.
Days 1 - 2
Define
Students will sort interview notes, first-response pieces, and library-based evidence into themes, then use those patterns to write and refine a clear problem statement that will guide an exhibit piece about refugee experiences and resilience in Northeast Columbia.
Days 3 - 4
Ideate
Students will generate multiple exhibit concepts from their interview notes, research summaries, and problem statements, then use peer critique and evidence-based selection tools to choose one promising direction for a refugee-focused art piece or storytelling concept.
Days 5 - 7
Draft
Students will translate earlier empathy, research, and problem-framing work into first prototypes for the library exhibit by studying effective composition and artist statement moves, building a draft piece in a chosen medium, participating in a structured peer critique, and revising toward a prototype packet that can be tested in the next phase.
Days 8 - 11
Test
Students will test draft photo-poems, portraits, and storytelling pieces with peers and community-connected users, capture evidence-based feedback about clarity, empathy, and audience understanding, and decide what revisions are needed before the next critique phase.
Days 12 - 14
Critique
Students will use structured critique protocols to evaluate draft photo-poems, portraits, and storytelling pieces for accuracy, empathy, artistic impact, and alignment to the exhibit purpose, then revise their work using evidence from peer and community-facing feedback.
Days 15 - 17
Notice & Reflect
Students will present their finished exhibit work to an authentic audience, analyze how research and feedback shaped their artistic decisions, and document growth in empathy, communication, collaboration, and design thinking through a final artist statement and reflection panel.
Days 18 - 20