When Colonel Gail Halvorsen spoke to the children attending the Gail S. Halvorsen Schule—an elementary school named in his honor in Berlin, Germany—he always encouraged them to have grateful, hopeful hearts and to spread that hope and faith in a better future to others.
They are doing just that!
Recently, the Gail S. Halvorsen Schule joined the global school project that has spread to all the German states and over twenty countries around the world called “Art Against Walls,” a wonderful program that encourages young people to share their passion for freedom and democracy through the arts.
The students at the Schule invited students at Bear River High School, in Garland, Utah, to join them for a collaborative project. Bear River was the school of choice for obvious reasons—Colonel Gail Halvorsen graduated from among their ranks in 1939.
The project involved students in Berlin making a model of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, and students in Garland making a model of the Wall in Utah, both out of 8″ tiles. They then, together, dismantled their walls as a metaphor for breaking down barriers of hate and discrimination and replacing them with bonds of friendship and unity.
Images taken from the Logan, Utah Art Walk, October 6, 2023
Fantastic project!!
Wonderful, wonderful project.