Fulton Public Schools students displayed over 80 artworks in the "Building Peace: From Within to the World" exhibit at the Mildred M. Cox Gallery in William Woods University's Kemper Art Center. The show, open Monday through Friday, was organized in partnership with the William Woods Rotaract Club, the Fulton Rotary Club, and Fulton Public Schools, with funding from a Rotary peace project grant. Art teachers Pamela Doss and Rebecca Diekamp coordinated student submissions from kindergarten through 12th grade, with works exploring themes of inner peace, community kindness, and symbolic acts of making a difference.
This exhibit matters because it demonstrates how local arts programming can foster civic engagement and social-emotional learning among young students. By involving multiple community organizations and schools, the project models grassroots peacebuilding through creative expression, addressing political and social divides in a constructive way. It also highlights the value of public school art education in providing students with meaningful exhibition opportunities beyond the classroom.