In room 216, where creativity runs, students are moving away from traditional art to a reformed version, an art class composed of culture.
This year, Sculpture and 3D Art teacher Kait Mariutto is implementing culture into her classes by having her students complete various art projects that reveal a deeper cultural meaning from Eswatini, South Africa.
As Mariutto grows her knowledge about the cultures around her, she believes it’s important to pass it on so students can also experience this. 
“I think it’s always important to learn about other parts of the world and other types of people,” Mariutto said.
Mariutto, who visits Eswatini every summer, soaks in the culture to bring back the beauty and art into her classroom.
In this, she likes to have her students explore other cultures while also gaining experience with different art styles.
Mariutto hopes that by doing this, her students will come to learn and love these cultures.
From her travels in Eswatini, Mariutto likes to bring back the art as inspiration to teach her students how certain pieces of art, such as sculptures, were built and how to create similar ones using related materials.
By doing this, students also learn about construction and building in art.
“We’re not just replicating the examples I have from Eswatini and South Africa,” Mariutto said.
Sophomore Mary Sungchintial, a student in Mariutto’s art class, thinks it’s a good way for her and her classmates to experiment with different art cultures.
According to Sungchintial, a lot of times students are only shown what Americans create as art, whereas in other cultures, there are a variety of different art styles.
“The fact that she’s showing us these different countries’ art styles is a better way of us wanting to diversify our styles of art,” Sungchintial said.
One teacher who works with Mariutto to incorporate culture into her classroom is science teacher Lishawna Taylor.
Taylor believes that by Mariutto doing this, it will benefit students.
“From the students who come from those countries, when you see something that’s part of your world, you actually get something back from the world you lost,” Taylor said. “For the people who are not from those worlds, for them to learn about art from another country broadens their perspective.”
Mariutto hopes in doing this that she will be able to help students grow their passion and understanding for art.
“I really want them to be passionate about art, yes, but mostly about what art can do and how it brings people together,” Mariutto said.
