An art show by Girl Scout Troop 6537, which is sponsored by Christ the King Church in Little Rock, debuted at the Central Arkansas Library in downtown Little Rock in May.
The show, titled “Girltopia,” was designed to bring attention to problems women face, and how to inspire change in the world.
“We all learned about our different issues. We taught each other and learned patience together because we had trouble with our art turning out right,” said troop member Lili Poirot, who chose to do a sculpture for her chosen topic of body image.
Ten pieces of art by the girls covered the topics of breast cancer, depression, gender inequality, arranged child marriages, domestic abuse, teen suicide, single mothers, human trafficking, body image and alcoholism.
Each girl picked a topic that meant something to her, said Poirot, 15, who attends Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock.
“Now that they’re in high school, they are going into a wider world and getting more exposure to problems like these. When they were younger, they helped the younger girls with activities like camping and pajama parties. Now they can lead on issues of how to help others on more serious issues that young women face today,” said troop leader Debbie Poirot.
The art show was a senior journey project, which is part of the process in earning a badge. Part of the journey is to create art, which goes along with the interest of the troop members.
“They loved the idea of an art show. They all love art. They bring their sketchbooks to meetings with them, so this fit with what they like to do,” Debbie Poirot said.
The troop formed in 2003 when the girls were in first grade. Poirot became troop leader in the second grade.
Nine girls ages 13-15 belong to the group. Most are parishioners at Christ the King and seven of the Girl Scouts had Christ the King art teacher Paula Kalina to inspire them to love art.
At the opening on the art show May 5, the girls talked about their art and had a choral reading.
In addition to creating the artwork, each girl wrote an essay to bring attention to the problem they chose and highlight ways she could help.
“This was their project. All I did was bug them about deadlines. They’re teens, so they need that. They did all the research and art on their own,” Poirot said.
For example, on the issue of single mothers, St. Joseph Helpers, a pregnancy resource center, was one of the highlighted resources.
“These are problems they are aware of. They were able to learn more about how they affect people. When you learn about it, it makes it more personal and you want to help with the problem,” Poirot said.
As a leader of a troop sponsored by Christ the King, Poirot does not like how some people shine a negative light on the values and work of Girl Scouts.
“There are a lot of people out there who are using Girl Scouts to get attention for themselves. I don’t know any troop leaders personally who do that. Girl Scouts does not discriminate. The girls learn leadership and have fun.” Poirot said. “We’re sponsored by a Catholic Church, but not all the members are Catholic. We all respect Catholic values. The topics they chose for the art are ones that Catholic Charities help.”
She sees the positive affect the values and activities have on the girls in her troop, especially about how to help others. It goes along with Catholic social teaching, she said.
“These are things they’ve been doing all along. They are involved in the Honduras mission and with Helping Hand. Since they were Brownies, they’ve been about service. Now it’s them stepping up and saying this is what I need to do.”
The exhibition at the main library ends June 9. The art show will then move to Terry Library in Little Rock. On July 20-21, it will be displayed at the Girl Scouts council meeting for Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas at the Holiday Inn Express near the Little Rock airport.
