Intergenerational Art Builds Bridges to Community Through SURF Project

Carnegie Mellon University senior Kayley Ji used art to help people connect and communicate across generations.

Ji, pursuing a BXA intercollege degree(opens in new window) in art and social and political history, led art classes through her Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship(opens in new window) (SURF) project that showed how anyone can tell their story using something most people have at home: paper. 

“Connecting to another person through art, no matter who or where you are, can start with a blank piece of paper,” she said.

This summer, Ji worked with Vintage Center for Active Adults, a nonprofit community center for older adults in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, not far from CMU’s campus.

For the project, she hoped to expand on what she learned in a CMU course on conducting research in ethnography, or the study of a culture from its participants.

Ji taught 15 to 20 people in seven sessions, each with a corresponding art project themed around “The Bridges We Build,” asking them to consider the ways they’ve overcome past challenges.

Inspired by a CMU course on ethnography, or studying culture by being a part of it, the New York City native said she enjoyed learning more about each person and about Pittsburgh through their stories.

“Hearing people interacting with each other and the artwork was really amazing,” she said.

In one exercise, participants could design their own “courage stickers” with markers and share them with others in the class. In another, they made pop-up paper bridges that they decorated to reflect on a time when they “crossed a bridge” in their lives.

She worked with Jan McLaughlin, art instructor at Vintage, who said Ji prepared innovative projects while generously investing her time and effort.

“We looked forward to her visits, enthusiasm and friendship,” McLaughlin said. “In particular, I found it interesting to learn some of her new ideas and appreciated her willingness to implement and approach the art process beyond Carnegie Mellon and out into the surrounding community.”

Dylan Vitone(opens in new window), professor in the School of Design, said while the art class participants benefited from Ji’s work, she learned from the leadership experience as well.

“It was so rewarding for me to watch Kayley build her confidence over the course of the summer,” he said. “She went from cautiously building activities to teaching art classes to a room full of complete strangers.”

To expand on her summer project, Ji took a bookmaking course and is developing a pop-up book inspired by her SURF project for her senior capstone.

Looking to the future, Ji said her SURF project inspired her to prioritize ways she can incorporate community engagement into her career after graduation.

“How can I work with communities to build something that is sustainable, that could also help, but take into account their voices?” she said.

Other CMU students interested in SURF should consider exploring a project outside their comfort zone, Ji said.

“It teaches so many good lessons about self-directed projects and problem-solving,” she said. “There are just so many possibilities to experiment with.”