Tag Archives: Art Education

Student Artwork in the Peace Corps Community Archive

Christine Wenk-Harrison served her time in the Peace Corps working as an art teacher with students in Sierra Leone. Her lesson plan notebook shows how Christine stressed the originality of artwork to her students. She believed art could be “something about you, your own idea, and work.” Her lesson plans also reveal her belief that teaching through art could demonstrate to her students how to work both creatively and independently while at the same time following instructions and overall directions.

Through art, Christine’s students expressed themselves, their culture, and their hopes. Below are several examples of her students’ work, held in American’s University’s Peace Corps Community Archive.

Student Artwork, Christine Wenk-Harrison, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Student Artwork, Christine Wenk-Harrison, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

All The World’s a Stage: A Nigerian Shakespeare Festival

Tom Hebert served in the Peace Corps from 1962-1964. During his service in Nigeria, he served as a business manager for the University of Ibadan’s School of Drama. In this role, he also worked as the “advance man” for the University of Ibadan’s “Theater on Wheels” cross country tour. His duties including tour logistics, promotion, and coordinating with local civic organizations. In 1964, in commemoration of William Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, the tour group organized a traveling Shakespeare festival. Actors performed selected scenes from plays such as Richard II, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Many West Africans read Shakespeare in school and in many cases throughout the tour, actors performed in front of full capacity audiences. In the city of Calabar, not even a rainstorm shortly after the start of Julius Caesar prevented the audience from enjoying the show. Shown below is a poster advertising the March 6-7, 1964 Shakespeare festival in Ibadan, Nigeria. Tom Hebert donated this item to the Peace Corps Community Archive this past summer. Many of the details in this post are taken from Hebert’s reminiscences of his Peace Corps service.

Ibadan Shakespeare Festival, March 6-7, 1964. American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Tom Hebert in Nigeria

Name: Tom Hebert

Country of Service: Nigeria
Place of Service: Ibadan
Service Project Title: University of Ibadan’s Shakespeare Traveling Theatre (Tour Manager)
Dates in Service: 1962-1964
Keywords: Arts

Accession Date: June 3, 2014
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 oversize item and 8 linear inches

Document Types

Poster mounted on foam core- Shakespeare Festival March 6-7- Ibadan
Photographs
Correspondence
Publications
Training Materials
Reports
“Watching Soyinka: Notes of an Old Peace Corps Volunteer”

Finding Aid

Training Materials – “Syllabus for the Peace Corps Training Program – Secondary School Teachers”
Teaching Materials – UCLA Schedule, Readings, Lecture Notes, Exams
Application: Blank Peace Corps Application
Correspondence
Returned Peace Corps Materials
Newsletter: “the Tilley Lamp”
Official Paperwork: Peace Corps Service
1. Certificate
School and Teaching Materials – Ahmadiyya Grammar School
1. English exams from students
School and Teaching Materials – University of Ibadan
Theater Materials (Nigerian)
Theatre Production, “The Gossips of Ewa”
1. Photos and Prompt/Cue book
Theatre Production: Shakespeare
Training Materials – Letters from students in the teacher training course
Training Materials – Supplies and Medical Information
Traveling Materials (maps, etc.)

Christine Wenk-Harrison in Sierra Leone

Christine Wenk-Harrison

Country of Service: Sierra Leone
Service Type: Education
Dates in Service: 1969-1971
Keywords: Education, Youth

Accession Date: April 1, 2014
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 linear inch (located in small collections)