Loyola students describe their work.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, in collaboration with the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, is embarking upon a new community initiative, inspired both by the Dan Flavin exhibition and The Light Project.

Through The Community Light Project, the Pulitzer and the Brown School endeavor to bring together people of all ages and interests around light, art, and community. The CLP is a multi-faceted project incorporating work with elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as other institutions, such as the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Select students from Cole Elementary, Cardinal Ritter Preparatory School, Loyola Academy, and Metro High School, under the guidance of our commissioned Light Project artists, will create light installations in their individual schools and will work together to build a collaborative light installation that will be displayed in a public space. Concurrently, the Youth Exploring Science to Tech program at the Taylor Community Center, which is part of the St. Louis Science Center, will be developing alternative power generation for one of the Light Project installations, as well as the collaborative school piece. Students affiliated with both the schools and the Science Center will also help collect lamps and their stories from the St. Louis community to help Sebastian Hungerer and Rainer Kehres build their Light Project installation in the burnt church on Washington Boulevard and Spring Avenue.

Ultimately, the Community Light Project seeks to open dialogue about what light means to different community members-for some it may mean security, for others it may mean salvation, while for others still, light may mean pollution or surveillance. By learning more about each individual’s personal relationship with light and art, the Pulitzer and the Brown School seek to explore what role light and art can play in the process for community change.

To learn more about this program, visit its blog: community-light-blog.pulitzerarts.org/