Broken Wings encourages students to overcome adversity through emotional strength and to diffuse negativity through kindness. The work challenges visitors to come up with their own creative solutions on how to stop bullying and help end school gun violence. After seventeen were killed in Florida, Jeff Veley, national bullying specialist, wrote about one student who…
I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, it can start a chain reaction. Rachel Joy Scott, first student killed, Columbine High School, 1999 Every person is worthy of compassion. Even people we find distasteful or crude. You know…the people that really bug us or grate…
National bullying specialist Jeff Veley and I collaborated in making a few Broken Wings videos to give students, families, and educators new tools to deal with bullying and cyberbullying. Watch our daily updates as we release new videos throughout ArtPrize Ten. We also invite you to visit Jeff’s page and sign up for his free…
Broken Wings featured on Wood TV 8 Broken Wings Grand Rapids Public Museum 272 Pearl Street NW (west of the river) September 19 to October 7, 2018 Vote #66688 In light of the recent tragic school shootings across America, find out how you can create positive change from national bullying specialist Jeff Veley. Share your…
To help solve our national problem of bullying and school shootings—from Columbine to Parkland to Santa Fe—what steps can we take to start a positive butterfly effect? Broken Wings is an artist/citizen work. This participatory installation invites a response. The work gives individuals an opportunity to get involved. To take action. Broken Wings visitors are…
Throughout the ArtPrize years with over 270,000 individuals personally interacting with my healing work by writing notes, signing names, hanging paper prayers, or tying ribbons, I have gained a decade of experience as the maker of participatory artwork. But I also have had to learn—how to flow—with the interactive nature of each work from some…
Recently, we witnessed the historic youth march in D.C., remembered the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High tragedy, and learned about many young people suffering from bullying. Meanwhile, some current solutions only seem to trigger more verbal bullets and political bullying. But to help our kids break out of the cocoon—those who are hurting, isolated,…