Skip to Content
  • facebook
  • X
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • flickr
  • WAGNER.EDU
  • A-Z
    A
    • Academic Advising & Accessibility
    • Academic and Cultural Enrichment
    • Admissions
    • Alumni & Friends
    • Anthropology Department
    • Arts Administration
    • Athletics
    B
    • Biological Sciences Department
    • Bookstore
    • Business, Nicolais School
    • Business Office
    C
    • Calendar
    • Campus Life
    • Campus Safety
    • Campus Services
    • Career Planning & Development
    • Center for Intercultural Advancement
    • Center for Leadership & Community Engagement
    • Center for Spirituality
    • Children & Teens Programs
    • Commencement
    • Communications & Marketing
    • Conference Services
    • Continuing Education
    D
    • Dance Program
    • Dining Services
    E
    • Early Childhood Center
    • Education Department
    • English Department
    • Expanding Your Horizons
    F
    • Film & Media
    • Film & Photo Shoots
    • Financial Aid
    G
    • Gender Studies
    • Government & Politics Department
    • Give to Wagner
    H
    • HawkTalk Blog
    • Health & Wellness
    • History Department
    • Holocaust Center
    • Honors Program
    • Human Resources
    I
    • Information Technology
    • Institutional Advancement
    L
    • Library
    • Lifelong Learning Department
    M
    • Math & Computer Science
    • Modern Languages, Literatures & Cultures
    • Music Department
    N
    • Newsroom
    • New Students Hub
    • Nursing, Evelyn L. Spiro School
    P
    • Performing Arts
    • Philosophy & Religious Studies Department
    • Physical Sciences Department
    • Physician Assistant
    • Planetarium
    • Pre-Health Science Program
    • Pre-Law Program
    • President’s Office
    • Provost’s Office
    • Psychology Department
    R
    • Registrar
    • Residential Education
    S
    • Sociology Department
    • Student Engagement and Activities
    • Student Government Association
    • Study Abroad
    T
    • Theatre
    • Theatre Season
    • Title IX
    V
    • Veteran’s Resources
    • Visual Arts Department
    W
    • Wagner Fund
    • Wagner Magazine
    • WCBG Student Radio
    • Writing Center
  • QuickLinks
    ONLINE
    • Directory
    • Follett Discover Access
    • Handshake
    • Mailport
    • Moodle
    • myWagner
    • OneLogin
    ON CAMPUS
    • Events Calendar
    • Job Opportunities
    • Library
    • Registrar’s Office
    • Theatre Season
    • Visit Us
    • Webcam
    MORE RESOURCES
    • For Employees
    • For Faculty
    • For Current Students
    • For New Students
    • For Community
    • For Alumni
    • For Parents
Wagner College Newsroom
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Newsroom MENU
    • WAGNER.EDU
    - Prev Article New exhibit features work of Wagner students, Port Richmond residents - Next Article
    May 9, 2018 Share
    Share on facebook
    Facebook
    Share on twitter
    Twitter
    Share on google
    Google
    Share on linkedin
    Linkedin
    Share on pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on email
    Email
    Text Size
    The group that created "Community Portraiture"

    "Community Portraiture" is a new exhibit on display in the Horrmann Library's Spotlight Gallery at Wagner College through the end of May. It is the collective work of several Wagner College art and education students with participants in a program called Los Promotores, which focuses on improving literacy and learning skills in Port Richmond.

    Below, Wagner College education professors Rhoda Frumkin and Katia Gonzalez, and art history professor Sarah J. Scott, give an overview of the project that produced “Community Portraiture.”

    Portraiture has often been traditionally considered to be a mimetic likeness of an individual. However, across diverse places and throughout all periods of art, humans have used non-mimetic imagery to represent aspects of identity. African cultures subject abstract carved wooden objects to rituals which infuse them with the essence of an individual, Assyrian priests perform opening-of-the-mouth rituals on images of the king to imbue them with his power, British aristocrats covet tiny rings with a lock of hair of their sweetheart as if it were a replacement for a lost love. Artists in the modern eras depict abstract shapes and forms that evoke aspects of their identity to convey ideas related to self-representation.

    This rich diversity of status and function of portraiture is the theme with which Wagner art majors have engaged this semester as they complete their senior learning community. They are learning how various artists express ideas related to individual and community identity, and are applying some of these ideas to their own creative work in the studio. Simultaneously, Wagner education students are working with families from Port Richmond who have dedicated themselves to improving their own communicative knowledge around English skills. These families too are learning how to express themselves but through writing. Hence, we have our collaborative project, “Community Portraiture,” which exhibits how art and the creative process can function as a communicative tool for sharing ideas about identity. Senior art students worked first with a group of Port Richmond Partnership Summit participants in a single afternoon workshop to create the first community portrait exhibited here on this wall. Participants were asked to share objects that they felt exhibited some aspect of their identity. Participants then sketched and ultimately painted their image on the canvas, and moved around the canvas to continue painting where others had left off.

    A multi-session workshop was planned for the Los Promotores group, where identity sharing and a discussion of values and goals took part around the creation of the Community Portrait. Culturally responsive practices, through intercultural connections, can create a pathway into the development of deep and ongoing partnerships between community members with both intersecting and diverse experiences and backgrounds. For this collaborative project, participants had the opportunity to consider ways objects may represent a key aspect of their identity. Participants selected and brought in an object that was important to them and evoked an emotional response. Dialogue ensued providing the space for shared understanding to take place. In these contexts, individual and collective stories were communicated through written and spoken words, images, and actions.

    The community portrait began with individual aspects of identity such as scientific tool in a students’ first microbiology lab, or a trophy won in a team sport. In these cases both objects were valued by their owners because they reflect a goal. Other objects featured here (such as jewelry or a doll given by a loved one) illustrate the shared human characteristic of feeling loved and part of a family. While walking through this exhibit, visitors are encouraged to engage with the messages being communicated and to explore how commonalities and differences can unite us all.

    Special thanks to Wagner's Graduate Education Students, Wagner's Art History Students, and families from Los Promotores who were willing to fully engage in this experience.

      • Art Department News
      • Education Department News
      • Port Richmond Partnership
      • Wagner News

    Popular Stories

    • Wagner College stone sign1 Wagner College stone sign1

      Higher Ed Authority Carnegie: Wagner Graduates Earn More

      June 17, 2025

    • Main Hall architects rendering min Main Hall architects rendering min

      A century on Staten Island

      November 27, 2018

    • annfrank art annfrank art

      Teens Create Artworks Inspired by Anne Frank

      June 13, 2025
     

    Related Stories

    Wagner College stone sign1Hidden Image June 17, 2025 Higher Ed Authority Carnegie: Wagner Graduates Earn More The newly released 2025 Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education has designated Wagner College a “higher earnings” school for alumni.
    annfrank artHidden Image June 13, 2025 Teens Create Artworks Inspired by Anne Frank Students from public and parochial schools across Staten Island were invited to submit works of visual and written art to the Wagner College Holocaust Center in honor of the “life, courage and spirit” of Anne Frank.
    career activator 1Hidden Image June 10, 2025 Career-Prep Program Blends Class, Employer Experiences Now preparing its fifth cohort of Wagner College students, the Career Activator Program has helped numerous students with professional career development over the years.
    Wagner College stone sign1Hidden Image June 2, 2025 Wagner Student Named 2025–2026 Newman Civic Fellow The prestigious yearlong fellowship recognizes student leaders who are committed to creating positive change in their communities.
    PT108146Hidden Image May 23, 2025 Spotlight on Student Success at Senior Awards Wagner College recognized the academic achievement, leadership, and service of its graduating seniors during the 2025 Senior Awards Ceremony.
    wagner graduation 8Hidden Image May 22, 2025 Wagner College Bids Farewell to the Class of 2025 Despite the rain, spirits and smiles were bright upon the hill last Thursday and Friday, where the commencement ceremonies for the Wagner College Class of 2025 proceeded with much enthusiasm.
    IMG 3396 1 scaled e1747837528133Hidden Image May 21, 2025 In Perfect Harmony: A Life in Lessons and Lyrics Skill builds some careers, while passion builds others. For Wagner College alum Charles Poveromo, more commonly known by his stage name of Charlie Romo, he’s blessed with both.  
    wfc24 1502Hidden Image May 15, 2025 Undergraduate Commencement To Be Held Outdoors as Planned The Wagner College Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony scheduled for tomorrow will be held outdoors as planned.
    Main Hall 2012Hidden Image May 14, 2025 Update on Graduate Commencement Ceremony Location Due to anticipated rain, the Wagner College Commencement Ceremony for students receiving graduate certificates, master’s degrees, and doctorates will be moved indoors to the Spiro Sports Center.
     
    • Wagner Magazine

      Stories from alumni around the world.

      Read the magazine

    • Contact the newsroom

      communications@wagner.edu

    • Wagner in the media

      Wagner College news coverage

      Browse Catalog

    • Visit Campus
    • Explore Majors
    • Library
    • Make a Gift
    Wagner College
    Work One Campus Road
    Staten Island, NY 10301
    • CONTACT US
    • Privacy Policy
    Back top