film/digital photo collage; 10×11”
“This piece is about striving for equality within our school systems. Every child should have equal access to a safe education regardless of background, district, or age. Although only seven schools are depicted in this piece – Reading High School, Madeira High School, Norwood High School, Sycamore High School, Mount Notre Dame High School, Indian Hill High School, and Walnut Hills High School, a school shooting could happen anywhere at any given time. Whether a school is public or private, urban, or suburban, the threat remains a shared American reality. In the United States you are 57 times more likely to be in a school shooting than other major industrialized nations. We are living in the only nation where ‘back-to-school’ prep often includes active shooter drills. Access to a safe education is a fundamental right, not a luxury.”
ARTIST BIO: Skye CUTTER is a grade 11 student at Summit Country Day School studying art under art teacher Carrie Barnett.