Children spend a lot of time dreaming of their futures – what they want to do for a living, places they want to travel to, hobbies and activities they want to learn or improve at, and much more. For the young, the pursuit of goals is unencumbered by fear. Their potential is limitless. This exhibition, created in partnership with the University of Louisville’s chapter of College Mentors for Kids, asked the participating artists to share their dreams for their future through collaborative mixed media collages. For three weeks, fifty-four pairs of college student mentors and elementary students visited the Speed Art Museum to explore the Museum’s collection on guided tours, experiment with art concepts in Art Sparks learning gallery, and create original artworks. The resulting artworks describe lofty dreams of opening bakeries and becoming professional athletes to exploring the world and making art, all in the hopes that they will be able to give back to their community, make their families proud, and add beauty to the world.

Wall Together is an ongoing program that pairs Speed Art Museum educators with local non-profits and community organizations to create original artworks for exhibition at the Museum.

College Mentors for Kids connects college students with local elementary school students in one-on-one mentoring relationships. The program was created by two Indiana University students in 1995 and has thirty-five chapters at colleges and universities across Indiana, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, and Virginia. The University of Louisville’s chapter serves third through fifth graders from Shelby Traditional Academy. Each week, the elementary school students visit the university’s Belknap Campus to build a relationship with their college student mentor and participate in structured activities which focus on higher education and careers, culture and diversity, and community service.

This project was made possible by the generous donations of Frank and Paula Harshaw, Christe and Randy Coe, and Kosair Children’s Charities.

Creating Tomorrow