East Lansing, MI — April 2025 — A quiet East Lansing High School classroom buzzed with creativity this week as students participated in a Kaleidoscope Painting Workshop, part of A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden, a statewide public art initiative led by artist Zahrah Resh and Michigan State University’s IMPART Alliance in partnership with AgeAlive.
Over the course of the day, students painted vivid, expressive sheets of paper that will be transformed into hundreds of symbolic butterflies—each one honoring Michigan’s Direct Care Workers (DCWs). These butterflies will be integrated into a large-scale art installation launching in June at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.
“This was about more than just painting,” said Resh, IMPART Alliance’s artist-in-residence. “We’re inviting students to become part of a movement—honoring the people who make caregiving their life’s work.”
The workshop exemplifies grassroots community engagement with a purpose. Students learned about the vital and often invisible roles of DCWs in their communities, a workforce currently experiencing a shortage of more than 36,000 in Michigan alone.
“Some of these students may end up pursuing careers in caregiving, and we hope they see the value and humanity in the work,” said Rochelle Berry, MBA, lead strategist for IMPART Alliance.
The student-created art will be showcased on June 16, 2025, at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts and later at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing.
