Future School of Fort Smith students tour Unexpected, see international artists at work

On a recent Tuesday afternoon it was business as usual at the Future School of Fort Smith. But it doesn’t take long to realize here, “usual” means anything but.

The classroom isn’t rows of desks with a podium at the front. It’s a square of gate-leg tables where each student can see his or her fellow classmates. It’s a discussion between an enthusiastic teacher and the 12 students in her English class. The students seem to share her enthusiasm even though it’s 3 p.m., past time for the end of a normal public high school day.

The Future School students still have 90 minutes before they can go home, but they’re not bothered by it. School didn’t start until 9 a.m., and it’s not every day. The design of Future School is to go beyond classroom walls. As one student puts it: “We’re doing real world stuff instead of actually sitting at our desk. We are learning about our community and the events that are all around us.”

The Tuesday was just such a day, and the classroom is nothing more than a launchpad. Instructor Amalie Holland explains as much as she sets up the lesson, notifying students they will be walking a few blocks from the Future School location at the corner of 7th and F Streets to Garrison Avenue for a look at the just-launched Unexpected Project.

In its second season, the Unexpected brings artists to Fort Smith from all over the world to christen different buildings downtown with the artists’ distinct styles. Each of the artists have creative names. D*Face, Jaz & Pastel, Bordalo II, Faith47, Cyrcle, and Maser. The students are familiar. They perk up when Holland reveals the first stop is Faith47’s contribution. Faith47 has traveled the world, Holland explains. She has held solo exhibitions in Johannesburg, London and New York.

The students got a peak at some of Faith47’s work in an earlier class period. As a result they know something a few locals on Facebook don’t.

The washed-out tiger painted on the face of a building overlaps with random bits of graffiti. To the students, it isn’t “disrespectful,” as a couple of commenters on the social network put it. It’s Faith47’s style: blending crisp, striking images with spray paint and aged surfaces. The goal is to create the effect of an authentic city streetscape.

Holland then takes the class to the setup for Jaz & Pastel a few blocks away. The duo are painting a massive mural on the broadside of a building between Garrison and Rogers Avenues. They use Hugg & Hall lifts and long brushes just to reach every inch of their display field. A volunteer from the Unexpected explains how it all came together. The duo first created the image, then used a projector to scale it onto the building’s side. Then, the real work could begin. A student videos the presentation with a small digital camera. Others ask questions and take notes.

With the heat at close to 100 degrees, Holland decides to cut the tour short. For the last stop, she guides her class to a pocket park along Garrison where Bordalo II’s setup awaits. The area is marked off like a crime scene. The victim: a heap of twisted metal from what had once been an automobile or two. It’s hard to tell. It’s a sight that would horrify the average citizen. Their downtown historic district now a Sanford & Son set.

But this is the Unexpected. Bordalo II works in junk as an Impressionist would with brush-and-paint. He is a sculptor with a reputation that proceeds him. This is something else the students know and are eager to witness.

But they won’t see it today. With the clock now close to 4 p.m., they have to get back and Bordalo II has stepped away for a coffee break. Holland guides her sweating dirty dozen across Garrison Avenue back toward the school.

At the start of the field trip, a man exchanged pleasantries with Holland. He’s still on his porch when they return and does so again.

“They’re getting used to us. Everyone seems glad we’re here,” she explains.

It’s clear by the end the students are happy to be here, too. The trip has given most time to process what they’ve seen. The assignment: create a personal narrative based on their experience with the Unexpected Project. But like the school itself, the assignment isn’t your ordinary “usual.” They’re not writing or typing a paper and turning it in. They are sharing their narratives as digital presentations. A podcast, a video, a PowerPoint presentation, or some other form of media the dog can’t eat.

With 20 minutes remaining, the students open their laptops and begin.