When Phyllis Pawa first learned she only had a piece of charcoal and paper to convey what she knew about global health in one word, she balked. “I hate art! I can’t do this!” she remembers telling her teacher, Tom Evans. The art assignment in question was one that Evans—visual art teacher and dean of faculty of the Cambridge School of Weston (CSW) in Massachusetts—designed to culminate a multi-part integrated studies course that emerged from an extended collaboration between CSW and the Incubator. The integrated course introduced students to an interdisciplinary global health framework, then incorporated global health concepts, ideas, resources, and tools with biological science, mathematics, art, and literature.
For a science-focused student like Pawa, however, the reflective art assignment felt intimidating. Despite her hesitance, she sat down with Evans; together, they identified Pawa’s growing interest in maternal health. “When I studied Zimbabwe for this class, I noticed that hemorrhage during childbirth was a big issue across countries in sub-Saharan Africa,” she explains. “And with the right treatment, hemorrhage is preventable.”
Under Evans’ guidance, Pawa began drafting her artwork, playing with the shape and location of the letters, and the use of colors. What emerged was a powerful black-and-white piece that communicates the pain and fear of hemorrhage, a normal event of childbirth spiraling into chaos. Pawa’s artwork from the course is featured in a multimedia art exhibit now on display at the Incubator. “I felt accomplished because I generally hadn’t felt proud of much art I have made in the past,” says Pawa.
Now a freshman at Whitman College in Washington State, Pawa looks back at her experience in Evans’ classroom ago with fondness and humor. “Before, I don’t think I would have taken any art classes in college, and I’ll be taking ceramics next semester,” she admits with a laugh. “Tom totally changed it for me.” Pawa’s semester in the integrated studies course in 2016—as well as subsequent experiences abroad in Africa and South America—sparked her interest in studying maternal health, especially midwifery training, in different cultural contexts. Moving forward, Pawa hopes to continue bringing together interests in maternal health and education through non-traditional mediums.
The Incubator has translated reflections and feedback from this innovative art assignment into written lessons that explore global health through art, which are now publicly available as a teaching pack on the Incubator resource repository. In addition to two lessons, “Global Health, In One Word” and “Connecting to Concepts Through Collage,” the teaching materials also include an instructor’s note, a glossary of terms, and companion videos for educators, featuring both Evans and Pawa.