By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–First Responders who participated in the annual 9-11 Memorial Climb at Discovery Park of America Saturday again got an assist from Union City High School Art students.
Those in Hilary Webb’s classes have provided posters of encouragement and remembrance for personnel who’ll make the climb 13 flights of stairs ten times in full gear in tribute to their 343 brethren who lost their lives in the New York City terror attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
The students’ posters and artwork will line the stairwells at DPA and provide inspiration to participants, according to those who’ve previously made the climb.
“They don’t know how much we appreciate them,” said several members of the UC Fire Department who were on hand to collect the artwork from the school earlier this week.
Webb’s classes annually provide uplifting pieces. The veteran UCHS teacher combines a history lesson of 9-11 with the art portion of the project, that is counted as a grade.
Students were allowed to work in groups or alone. They researched images, phrases, and logos related to the event and created preliminary sketches prior to beginning their work.
She said the ‘life event’ will forever be part of her memory bank and talks with her students about how many people use art as a way of healing and commemorating events in their personal lives.
“With every big moment in history, there is an increase in art, music, and literature,” she insisted. “There was a lot of art that was created post-9-11. Art and history are heavily intertwined in all of my classes.
“I love to see my students use creative thinking strategies that we practice in class. And the best reward for an art teacher is the look on their faces when they are proud of the design they successfully execute.”