HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- New faces generate curiosity in any school, especially when the eyes watch over the entire student body. At Douglas Southall Freeman High School, in Henrico's West End, lunch is served with a smile. Specifically, the smiles on 94 massive head shots that line the walls of the school's cafeteria.
"It is not every day you see a huge picture of yourself on the wall," Freeman 10th grader Lillian Cook said. "You get a sense of community with the people around you more."
Freeman High School senior Annie Ward Love.
The head shots of Freeman students and staff are the brainchild of Freeman High School senior Annie Ward Love. Her intent? To squash stereotypes and kick start conversations between strangers at her school.
"Part of what makes it so powerful is that it’s impossible to ignore," Love said. "There is so much energy and it's alive."
Love was inspired by J.R., the artist behind the international Inside/Out project. The French street artist urges people across the globe to send him photos which he then develops into bold artwork. His large artwork has graced buildings across the globe.
Three hundred members of the Freeman High School community had their photos taken when Love organized a photo shoot during a recent school lunch. Love then sent the images to J.R. A few weeks ago, the three by four and half foot images arrived on the school’s doorstep.
"Just the size of these pictures. It looks like people are so confident. And I love that," Love said.
With help from fellow students and teachers like Steve Zanetti, Love’s vision became reality.
"I think it has changed the cafeteria that it is much more personal," Zanetti, an economics teacher who owns a professional photography business, said. "This is something I wanted to be a part of and this was something I could help her out with. It is a great snapshot of the school itself."
This project is the first of its kind in Central Virginia.
"It suddenly happened because we didn’t know they would paste the picture. They’re such big pictures. So cool,” Freeman High School 11th grader Sumaira Imran said.
Using the cafeteria as a canvas is working as the picture project has drawn the student body even closer.
"I had a couple of people come up to me and say they saw me on the wall and I didn’t even know them. And I made a few friends that way," Freeman High School senior Ryan Bryson said.
Annie Ward Love has inspired others. Her classmates claim the school is just a bit kinder and gentler.
"I feel that people are starting to talk to one another and create new friendships," Freeman High School 11th grader Anne Harper Ward said.
Love’s determination is inspiring others and leaving a mark on Freeman’s own gallery of grins.
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