During Random Acts of Kindness Week, the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus iLab was transformed into The Kindness Installation, an immersive art experience led by art teacher and iLab coordinator Heather Hagy and guidance counselor Sherry Bowen. Rooted in contemporary art and the magic of immersive installations, this project invited students to step inside a living, growing artwork.
Students first journeyed into the world of contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, discovering her enchanting “Obliteration Room.” Originally unveiled at the Tate Modern in London, Kusama’s installation began as a perfectly pristine allwhite room with white walls, furniture, décor and everyday objects. Visitors were handed brightly colored stickers and invited to place them anywhere their imagination desired. In just four weeks, more than three million stickers transformed the onceblank space into a jubilant explosion of color, a visual symphony of pattern and play.
Inspired by this same artistic premise, the Ponte Vedra Beach Campus iLab began as a fully white space filled with whitepainted objects, from a dump truck toy to ceramic pumpkins and miniature flamingos. The space was then opened after Flag on Feb. 27, with parents invited to begin the joyful ritual of placing the first stickers.
“Throughout the day, every class wandered through, one by one, adding their circular Acts of Kindness artworks and lots of dots of color. Tiny acts of kindness made visible,” said Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Head Suzanne Carlino.
By the time the final student placed a sticker, more than 40,000 dots of delight had transformed the room into a vibrant celebration of community, compassion and creativity. And on Monday, students returned to an extraordinary surprise: the room glowing under blacklights, shimmering like a galaxy made of kindness.
“This experience will linger in our students’ memories, a gentle reminder that small actions, layered together, have the power to illuminate the world,” she said.
PHOTO CUTLINES