D&G Foundation uses art to uplift students

At Haile Selassie High School, where shrinking enrolment and deferred dreams often cast a shadow, 67 students came together recently to colour outside the lines of their daily realities.

Marking World Art Day on April 15, the Desnoes & Geddes (D&G) Foundation brought its Draw It Out art therapy initiative to life once again, in collaboration with The Art of Motivation Inc. and its founder, Shawn Ashman, offering students a creative outlet to reimagine their futures, one brush stroke at a time.

Haile Selassie High, located in a community often challenged by social pressures, stands as one of the most underpopulated secondary institutions in the country, with just 250 enrolled students.

However, beneath those statistics are young people quietly fighting to rewrite their stories. The Draw It Out session offered them a moment of introspection with an opportunity to visualise a more expansive, more brilliant life beyond the borders of their environment.

Guided by visual artist and motivational speaker Ashman, the students explored their emotions through metaphor and colour. They painted sunflowers stretching towards a blue sky, symbolising their potential to bloom regardless of circumstance. Using the canvas as both confession and declaration, Ashman encouraged the students to reflect deeply on their emotional states by asking, “Are your days sunny, cloudy, or rainy?”

“You are painting sunshine,” Ashman told the students, as they dipped their brushes into bold, bright colours. Her words echoed the spirit of the session through creative exercise as an invitation to see life differently.

She continued, “You are making a concerted effort to change how you see the world, and only you have that power to make the change. You are going to take the paintings home, and it will be a reminder of the sunshine.”

REFLECTION

As students focused on their canvases, Ashman gently challenged them to reflect on their choices and emotions. “The decisions you make today, you will have to live with the consequences,” she said. “So on rough days, we have to find ways to cope. ‘How am I going to transform my mental state and how can I flip the script from negative to positive?’”

“You have the power, and whatever you think you need will come to you,” she concluded. “You have far more than you think you have. Let this painting remind you of the possibilities in life.”

The session culminated in a series of self-affirmations authored and spoken by the students themselves: “I am the head. I am a conqueror. I am strong. I am positive. I am rich. I am wonderful. I am creative. I am grateful.”

These affirmations served both as declarations, as well as quiet acts of resistance, each phrase a brush stroke against the narrative that young people from under-served communities are not allowed to dream expansively.

Dennis Beckford, D&G Foundation accountant, reinforced the message. “You are here to draw and understand your emotions. Understand that your behaviour today will shape your opportunities tomorrow,” he said.

“Discipline is not mere obedience; it is about self-respect. When we do these Draw It Out sessions, we aim to drive meaningful change in these students and it is a bold move for all those involved. It is a way for students, especially our young men, to begin the difficult work of knowing themselves, confronting their truths, and understanding that they are worthy of a better story,” he added.