Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are

A collaborative photography/print-making series between CultureWorks Student Advisory Council + I Am Academy of Holland, MI on exploring black heroes. Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are will be on display in the corridor at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts September 14 – December 23.

CultureWorks’ Student Advisory Council and students at I AM Academy reflect on black heroes and creatively explored “Ubuntu” together in terms of the visual arts through the process of printmaking. 

Beginning in September of 2021, students of I AM Academy borrowed cameras and learned from CultureWorks photography instructor and Board President Jack Burk on how to take photos that highlight their personal experience of Ubuntu in our communities. Inspired by this work, the Student Advisory Council at CultureWorks continued and expanded on this project, creating the series known as Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are, originally displayed at the Holland Area Arts Council and now moving to the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.

Ubuntu, roughly translated as “I am because we are”, inspired these works by middle and high school students – highlight historical and contemporary figures who’ve played a significant part in shaping who they’re becoming…by paving the way, shining a light, or lending courage through their words and actions. We’re so grateful for this community of saints, and for the community of creative souls being raised up in its wake.