Every year, Hewitt chooses one day to focus on a theme that is specific to the community (it’s usually a “Fixed Day”). This past Friday, Hewitt girls in grades 8-12, gathered in the gym to discuss feminism. The juniors and seniors of the Global Feminisms class led a conversation on feminism and specifically focused on women’s roles in comedy and Emma Watson’s feminist stance. The girls separated into smaller discussion groups where the definition of feminism, ‘feminist objects’, and men’s role in feminism were analyzed. The ideas were later shared with everyone in the gym. Afterwards, the girls split up to explore different art exhibitions around New York City.
The eighth grade visited the Met, and the upper school split up according to their art electives. Students visited: WOMEN: New Portraits by Annie Leibovitz, ICP’s Public Private Secret, Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest, Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty, Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party, and more. Throughout the day, students explored feminist stance within the art (ranging from women’s role in the media to the celebration of women’s history).
Nicolette V. ‘19, said, “I really enjoyed the exhibits I saw. They were both very different. The women’s museum was really interesting and the fact that it was held in a prison was very powerful and impactful. The Whitney exhibitions were also very powerful and showed us different takes and perspectives of feminism.”
When the girls returned to Hewitt they split into smaller discussion groups led by students in the “Curatorial Studies” class. These small groups were made up of all the grades — they discussed their reactions to the exhibitions and participated in quick activities like creating a chain from words that define them, making exhibition-inspired collages, and writing down their conversations.
The day ended with a large reflection activity. Everyone gathered to share what they had discussed and created. It was such a successful day; we learned more about feminism explored the incredible art that relates to the girls as individuals.