Visual and Verse: Giving Voice to the Visual Arts

What happens when we ask students—and ourselves—to look within?

Not just inward in a personal sense, but inward as a creative practice. Inward as away of seeing, interpreting, and responding to the world around us. A recent collaboration in Greenville, SC offered  a powerful model for this kind of exploration. One that arts integration teachers at any level can bring into their own classrooms.

In partnership with our Greenville Poet Laureate, Glenis Redmond, the Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) launched its third annual Visual & Verse exhibit. The concept is simple, but incredibly rich: 15 visual artists each create a piece centered on the theme “within,” and then 15 poets respond to those works with original writing by way of an ekphrastic poem.

The result? A layered conversation between image and word; between what we see
and how we interpret it.

A Dialogue Between Art Forms 

At its heart, this exhibit is built on the idea of connection. Each artwork becomes more than a standalone piece. It becomes a prompt, a question, an invitation. The poets step into the visual space and respond, creating something new which both reflects and expands the original work.
Displayed side by side, the artwork and its corresponding poem invite viewers to experience both simultaneously. You’re not just looking. You’re interpreting. You’re feeling. You’re making meaning across forms. And that’s where this becomes especially exciting for educators.
 
What Is Ekphrastic Poetry and Why Does It Matter?

This kind of creative exchange is rooted in a practice called ekphrastic poetry, poetry written in response to a work of art. It’s an approach that naturally lends itself to arts integration because it:

• Encourages close observation
• Builds interpretive and critical thinking skills
• Invites personal connection and voice
• Bridges visual and literary learning

In other words, it asks students to do exactly what we want them to do across all
disciplines: look closely, think deeply, and respond meaningfully.

​From Greenville to Your Classroom

Projects like Visual & Verse remind us that powerful learning doesn’t occur in isolation. It grows through connection; between disciplines, between people, and between ways of thinking. How can you bring this kind of partnership into your own school/learning community?

Maybe it’s a collaboration between an art teacher and an English teacher, where students create visual pieces and then exchange them as inspiration for poetry. Maybe it’s a cross-grade level project, where older students write in response to artwork created by younger learners; building both mentorship and creative dialogue. Or maybe it starts small, with a single lesson that invites students to look closely, reflect deeply, and respond in a new medium.

These kinds of experiences don’t require a formal exhibit or a large-scale event.They begin with a willingness to connect. A willingness to let one art form spark another, and to trust that students have something meaningful to say when given the space to reflect and respond.

When we invite students to create within and in response to one another, we’re not just teaching content. We’re cultivating perspective, empathy, and voice.

And who knows? Your classroom might just become the next space where words and images meet in ways that surprise, challenge, and inspire.​

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Author

Melody Powell is a local Greenville poet who participated in the 2026 MAC Visual & Verse with her poem, "oak or elm", in response to Angie Carrier's painting, "In Sunlight's Kissed Canopy". Melody also teaches 3rd grade at Stone Academy, an arts integrated elementary school located in Greenville, SC.