Just one of the heart-stopping questions left behind by high school students on our Q & A Wall in the Richmond Art Museum.

Just one of the heart-stopping questions left behind by Richmond Senior High students on our Q & A Wall in the Richmond Art Museum.

“I want you to know that looking at the art made by Amos made me feel understood and unalone.” “The design and construction of the exhibit are world-class.” “I have heard beautiful feedback from students today - all day! It was reviving.” “Having a story like Amos’s made it hit close because he was so young like us.” These are just a few of thousands of responses about the exhibit from students, teachers and visitors at the Richmond Art Museum.

Even more powerful was a yellow sticky note left on the “Ask your own questions,” section of the wall: “How Can I Tell My Mom I Want to Kill Myself?”

The Amos Lemon Burkhart retrospective exhibit, You Miss 90% of the Shots You Don’t Take, was on view from February12th to April at the Richmond Art Museum in Richmond, Indiana. Why there? RAM is the only municipal art museum in the United States that is attached to a high school. The exhibit was experienced by over 2,400 teenagers - undoubtedly the largest number of teens to see one show in the museum’s 150-year history. 

The exhibit was supported by a $10,000 grant from the local hospital foundation, Reid Community Benefit to train and pay docents. They facilitated visits from every secondary language arts class in the school district, along with groups of art educators, behavioral health providers, the County Drug Prevention task force, and Scout groups, as well as families and friends of the high school students on repeat visits. The topics of addiction and mental health are especially relevant in this small town in the heart of the midwestern “Opioid Belt”.

RAM Education Director, Lance Crow, said, “This exhibit made us re-think everything we do in regards to community involvement. It changed the way we think about what art can do, and how we can create a more participatory experience with new audiences.” 

 “The students who usually are the least engaged with art were the ones most affected by Amos’s story,” reported RHS principal, Ray Woolpy. “I literally had students stopping me in the hallway to thank me for this experience.”

Carmen Hardwick, an RHS student, wrote,  “I think that through this everyone will learn how others feel or why they do what they do. Putting feeling and emotion in art is hard to do but when it happens it can never be forgotten. A lot of us feel less alone because you let us see {Amos}.” 

And the experience did not end when the exhibit came down. Earlham College intern Kate Wallace collated the colorful data from the Chromatic Data installation, and written responses from the Reflection Obelisk, to outline actionable Social-Emotional Learning tasks for the school system. The “Stressors” and “Supports” artwork collectively provide a snapshot of the issues students face, and support systems that are working, at any given time. Less quantifiable, but perhaps more powerful, are the snippets of writing and drawing added to the “What’s On Your Mind?” community mural throughout the exhibition.

“Dear Parents of Amos, This exhibit was an amazing experience. Most of the time that kids have to go to art museums, it’s super boring to most of them and everyone just goofs off. I feel like having a story like Amos’s made it hit close because he was so young like us. I also loved the hands on part because I feel like you could either blow off steam about something or you could make a piece of art and really express yourself. Thank you for the opportunity.” (RHS student)

The recently renovated Beaux-Arts galleries presented the work with beautiful lighting and thoughtful curatorial decisions by museum Director Dingeworth. In the separate interactive gallery, the 15 different “stations” held up to teenage hands - although the popular “Wheel of Destiny” occasionally needed loose screws tightened. Richard McCoy, Executive Director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, commented, “The construction and content of the exhibit are as good as anything I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in the museum business for 30 years. Kudos to you for an important exhibit on important topics.”

The exhibit came back home for some slight adjustments by our resident master cabinetmaker, and will be heading back to the midwest in September for two months in Cincinnati.