The Things We Carry: Storytelling Through Art

This spring, Refuge Art School was honored to collaborate with Western Avenue Studios artist Jan Whitted on The Things We Carry: What's In Your Suitcase?, a community exhibition that invited artists to tell personal stories through miniature wooden suitcases. We are incredibly grateful to Jan for creating this opportunity and inviting our students to participate alongside more than 35 artists of all ages from organizations including Lowell Association for the Blind (LAB), the Butler Middle School, and the Western Avenue Studios & Lofts community.

Each participating artist received a small wooden suitcase and was challenged to transform it into a work of art that reflected a story, memory, experience, or piece of their identity. For many of our students, this project offered a chance to think beyond traditional canvases and explore new ways of communicating through art. The suitcase became a vessel for personal narratives, encouraging artists to reflect on what they carry with them, whether tangible or invisible. The exhibition highlighted the power of storytelling and demonstrated how art can help us share experiences that might otherwise go unheard. Our students embraced the challenge, creating thoughtful and imaginative works that reflected their unique perspectives and lived experiences. Opportunities like these are invaluable, allowing young artists to experiment, take creative risks, and discover the strength of their own voices. The reception itself was an extension of the exhibition's storytelling theme. Jan invited guests to create collaborative poems using words and phrases drawn from the artists' statements, weaving together fragments of many stories into something entirely new. Visitors were also encouraged to contribute their own experiences by writing on suitcase-shaped pieces of paper and placing them inside a vintage suitcase, creating a collective archive of memories, reflections, and personal journeys.

Projects like The Things We Carry remind us that art is more than an object, it is a way of connecting with one another. We are grateful to Jan Whitted for creating a space where artists of all ages could share their stories and for giving our students an opportunity to be seen, heard, and celebrated as storytellers.

Watch Display Reel Here