For more than 30 years, Michigan 4-H has been using a visual letter art exchange program to connect children of different cultures.
The Children’s Art Exchange program with China has grown to include other states as well as other countries. Thanks to the project, “you don’t have to travel across the globe to gain cultural awareness,” said Janis Brinn, Michigan State University Extension educator from the Allegan County Extension office who has coordinated the project since 2013.
Conducted in cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, the Michigan 4-H China Project is a global education program that allows youth to explore other cultures while communicating with their peers across the globe through visual letters.
“Kids express through drawings what’s important to them,” Brinn said. “It’s a form of art therapy. They learn about differences and also about how they’re very similar.”
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Schoolchildren from Michigan review their drawings to be sent to China.More than 300,000 Michigan youth have participated in this project. It started in 1989 when the Chengdu Music and Dance Troupe from China visited Michigan and performed for more than 23,000 children in schools across the state. That endeavor, led by MSU Extension’s Betsy Knox, has grown to become the now annual Michigan 4-H Children’s Art Exchange with China.
“Betsy saw my passion and support of the program and I took over as the lead contact in 2013,” Brinn explained.
Beginning in 1990, Chinese brush painting, calligraphy and modern style paintings created by children from the People’s Republic of China were sent to Michigan schools for children to view. The story behind each art piece was developed with the help of Chinese graduate students at MSU. The art was sorted by content and style and placed in teaching kits that are still in use today.
Brinn said it used to take 10 weeks for artwork to travel from China to Michigan by boat. The artwork is now transported by plane and takes less than three weeks to reach its destination. Traditionally, Michigan teachers have introduced the project to their students in the fall and their completed artwork is ready for review in the spring.
“It’s happening year-round now,” Brinn said. “It’s been expanded to include summer camps, libraries, 4-H clubs, migrant programs and tribes.” Brinn writes frequent updates about the program for MSU newsletters and other publications and interest continues to grow.
Liana Pepin, a Michigan State University 4-H Extension educator in the Upper Peninsula’s Marquette County oversees the 4-H program there. She begins the art exchange project with an introduction to where China is located on the globe and what province the artwork has come from – mostly the Shandong Province.
“We look at where we live first and then turn the globe around to show how far away China is,” she said “Depending upon the age of the students, we can also discuss what we might know or can guess based on what we know about other places in the U.S. that are along the latitudinal lines about the differences in climate, geological structures, and more.”
Pepin said students learn about China's culture, environment and more through the visual letters that Chinese children have created and sent to Michigan.
“We take time to discuss each piece of artwork, talking about anything the students observe about the image: the colors used, the expression on faces, the activities happening.”
Each drawing comes with a brief description to help explain what the artist intended to express.
“Once the students have learned about children's experiences in China, we discuss what they might like to say through a visual letter to the children of China,” Pepin said. “They often choose landmarks like Lake Superior, favorite activities like downhill skiing or fishing, or something unique to our area like the ore dock in Marquette. I think they enjoy this activity so much because they create artwork that expresses something special to them. Then there is the competition aspect where a select number of pieces are chosen to go to China. How cool is that – I mean, how many people get to say their artwork was selected to be sent as a gift to the children of China?”
Margaret Merchberger is a 4-H leader and MSU Extension educator in Chippewa County in the Upper Peninsula who has been introducing students to the art exchange program since 2018. She said sharing about their surroundings helps young people appreciate where they come from.
“Students have provided artwork that talks about hockey, going camping with family to the attractions that Sault Ste. Marie has to offer, such as the Soo Locks and the Tower of History,” she said. “The children love to share their stories with children from other countries.”
Kristy Jorgensen is an elementary school art teacher who has been incorporating the project into her lesson plans for more than 10 years at the two school districts where she has worked. It’s so popular among students that she gets requests every fall from students who are eager to get started.
“I’ve seen the impact of storytelling through art. It’s a really high interest project,” she said. “I do it with all of my students from kindergarten to fourth grade.”
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Artwork from children in Taiwan.
The former Otsego Public Schools teacher now works at Thornapple and Collins elementary schools in the Forest Hills Public School district.
“I teach kids from all over the world, and they all have unique stories to share about their cultures,” she said.
When she introduces the assignment, Jorgensen shows students photos of the schools in China where children are creating drawings to be sent to them.
“That’s a good starting point for students to start thinking about telling their own stories,” Jorgensen said.
Because so many pieces of art are created for inclusion in the exchange program, there is a competitive selection process. Retired Otsego Public Schools art teacher Cassandra Boyce said the contest provides a unique opportunity for budding artists to be recognized.
“On top of the cultural exchange of information, our students participate in a competition to pare down the number of art pieces to a manageable number to send to China,” Boyce said. “What I have always found rewarding about this competition is that, many times, the students whose artwork is selected to go to China would be students who may not be getting other accolades academically. It is so great to show our students that they can shine in so many different ways.”
Boyce said it’s also exciting for students to imagine their artwork traveling to China and being seen by audiences there.
“The 4-H China Art Exchange is such a great way for our elementary students to share a visual conversation with other kids their age,” she said. “The images that are created by our young artists tell the stories of what their life is like, what is important to them, and what they spend their time doing. What is so great about this program is that our kids get to see artwork from the students in China that are telling us the story of what their life is like in their country. The kids see that we are really not that different, even though we live a world apart.”
Jorgensen agreed. “At the end of the day, they’re all kids.”
Brinn said she thinks exposure to different cultures is important for all ages.
“Research shows the importance of global, cultural education,” she said. “To be successful global leaders, you need exposure to other cultures. We are so globally connected. We live in a globalized, interconnected and rapidly changing world.”
While the pandemic was awful in many ways, it led to expansion of the program. Similar projects are now being carried out in 18 other countries and state-to-state connections have also been established.
“Counties in the Upper Peninsula are exchanging art down south,” Brinn said.
A new global scholar program has just been established to connect with schoolchildren in India. The SMILE program stands for Share Michigan India Learn Exchange Stories. Brinn recently held a Zoom session with 55 fifth- and sixth-graders from India who are anxious to get started.
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An Allegan County child's drawing called "The Fight" tells the story of her mother's cancer treatment. Other locations that have launched similar programs include Norway, Japan, Taiwan, Gambia, Nepal, Tanzania and Chile.
Brinn noted that there are 70 countries where 4-H programs exist so there’s still plenty of room for expansion.
“I don’t want to say no to anybody,” Brinn said. “This is important for children everywhere. Why would I not help others get started? People ask what my legacy is and this is it. I just keep learning about other cultures and finding opportunities to connect.”
Muskegon native Dawn Kemp has been writing about people and places throughout Michigan for more than 30 years. She lives in Kalamazoo with her husband and dog and is learning to play the ukulele.