FOCUS IN

 Kylee, Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High School, grade nine.

Beth Burkhauser

The Interdependence Hexagon Project is both a regional and international visual arts education initiative. We provide Pre-K–12 students and communities worldwide an opportunity to think about their responsibilities as global citizens and to use art as a medium to connect with individuals about important social issues. Downloadable hexagon templates are used to produce artworks that serve as metaphors for connectivity.

More than 12,000 hexagons have been created since the project’s inception in 2006. Themes of peace, environment, democracy, social justice, and diversity are expressed through the power of art. These creative voices are shared through local, schoolwide, and regional exhibitions, and on our digital gallery on Artsonia.

Thematic Exhibitions
The theme for our 2022 project was kindness for which we received more than 1,000 entries in our Artsonia gallery and several hundred for our Eastern Regional Exhibition in Scranton, Pennsylvania. We shared all of the entries in a video that can be seen on our YouTube channel.

We provide students and communities worldwide an opportunity to use art as a medium to connect with individuals about important social issues.

We are excited to announce our 2023 theme: environmental justice—a focus on our planet, our role as responsible inhabitants, and ensuring equitable and just solutions for sustainability. We invite you and your students to participate. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2023.

Other Recent Initiatives
We are happy to support an NAEA Ecology and Environmental Interest Group goal, “To compile teaching resources to support art educators in implementing ecological and environmental art pedagogies” through our website resources.

We made new connections in 2022, including Love Without Borders 4 Refugees in Greece (LWB) (lovewithoutborders4refugees.com). LWB seeks to support refugees in Greece and beyond regain stability and autonomy over their lives using art as a means for self-expression and a tool for economic independence. Their hexagons appear on Artsonia and were for sale at our exhibition in Scranton. All proceeds went directly to the LWB artists.

We have created a Zoom WebinArt for the Pennsylvania Art Education Association which is now posted on our YouTube channel. It contains an informative tutorial about how to upload hexagons to Artsonia.

An Invitation
We continue to welcome entries from across the U.S., Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. Go to “Hexagon Project 2022” to view all entries on artsonia.com and please join us in 2023 by June 30! We invite you to use our extensive website resources, including lesson plans and worksheets, and participate in the 2023 exhibition.

Elizabeth Burkhauser is the director of the Interdependence Hexagon Project. beth@hexagonproject.org