At Harkness we aim to develop the student as a whole.
As part of this goal, we have a very complete and strong visual arts program.
Making art is an intellectual process, and the visual arts are among the most complex forms of human communication. Art possesses the capacity to stir the mind, imagination and spirit. In the classroom art making is taught as a process comprised of visual analysis, skill development, intuitive discovery and critical thinking. The curriculum stresses perception and drawing, design concepts, problem solving, persistence and craft.
Inventiveness and informed risk-taking are celebrated. In a world of continual change, a visual arts education encourages students to see complex problems from multiple perspectives. It also trains them to seek and expect multiple solutions. Students graduate with strong critical skills, a developed aesthetic judgment, and the ability use images and objects to communicate both the practical and the poetic.
Harkness students hold an art auction each year donating their work to raise money and buy food and other items to donate to orphanages in Bucerías and a home for disabled children in Tepic. Last year the students raised $40,000 pesos for these charities.
All the proceeds of the auction are donated to the organizations: Pasitos de Luz, Manos de Amor, Loving Arms. The students participate in buying the supplies for the institutions, delivering and spending time with the retirees and orphans to further the students´ social service commitment.
