Art, activism and memory
Photos courtesy of Aaron Terry February 19, 2026
Students on a study abroad program in Chile learn how the country鈥檚 artists reflect on its political past and present
The Winter Session study abroad program in Chile was full of memorable experiences鈥攙isits to artist studios, contributing to a community mural, eating the freshest food imaginable, time in the mountains, beach days鈥攂ut a moment Hannah Morgan will never forget involved just a few minutes with a stranger.
A woman on the street noticed students holding bags from the Museum of Memory & Human Rights in Santiago, Chile鈥檚 capital city, and she approached the group of 91原创 students to thank them for visiting and learning about this era in the country鈥檚 history.
The museum commemorates victims of Chile鈥檚 military dictatorship, led by August Pinochet from 1973 through 1990, which left several thousand Chileans dead, imprisoned or in exile.
鈥淲e were getting ice cream after, and this woman came up and said, 鈥業鈥檓 so happy you went,鈥欌 said Morgan, a junior visual communications major who has a writing minor and studied in New Zealand with the World Scholars Program. 鈥淪he was alive during that time and talked about her life. We didn鈥檛 realize that it is still a big deal to a lot of people.鈥
The incident also reinforced faculty leader Aaron Terry鈥檚 goals for the program. Terry, associate professor in the Department of Art and Design in the College of Arts and Sciences, wanted students to experience the power of art for social change and learn about the relationship between art and memory.
The program centered on two distinct urban centers of Chile: Santiago, a political center at the base of the Andes Mountains, and Valparaiso, an educational center of steep hills facing the Pacific Ocean.听
鈥淓xploring these cultural and geographic locations allowed students to see how Chilean artists reacted to decades of military dictatorship and oppression, as well as recovery and contemporary politics,鈥 Terry said. 鈥淚n studying this history, students gain an understanding of how societies relate to tragedy through personal and collective memory.鈥
Art and resistance
Her time in Chile inspired Morgan to rethink the art she creates. Although she can be outspoken in her personal life, she never wanted to use her printmaking for political statements, but the program changed her mind. Even as a visitor who didn鈥檛 know the full history or understand the culture, the Chilean art she saw had a huge impact.听
鈥淟istening to these artists share their stories and witnessing their passion firsthand gave me a deeper understanding of the responsibility and potential artists hold within society,鈥 she said. 鈥淚f I can do that for one person, if I can make a difference or get one person to think more deeply about an issue, I want to do that.鈥澛
Their time in Valparaiso showed students how art, culture and activism can coexist in an urban setting.听
鈥淚n Chile, they use art as resistance. You see it everywhere,鈥 said Sofia Glassman, a junior psychology major with minors in Spanish and Africana studies.
Valparaiso embraces street art, not just permitting it but actively encouraging the vibrant expressions of creativity.听
鈥淪ure, some of it is like a tag,鈥 Glassman said, 鈥渂ut a lot of it is murals, and they鈥檙e beautiful and they show the history.鈥
In viewing murals and meeting local artists like , students learned about symbolism in art.听
鈥淜laudia told us what different symbols represent, like how people put the country upside down to represent the fact that it was a territory named by colonizers and not the Indigenous people,鈥 Glassman said.听
Preserving memory
Students took that knowledge with them as they created art projects throughout the program, including working on a mural in a community center with artist Juana Perez, who shares her work on .听 Perez has created murals in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico reflecting each country鈥檚 visual, indigenous traditions.听聽
鈥淲e integrated it into the mural, which was beautiful,鈥 Glassman said, 鈥渁nd we saw how Juana uses symbolism in her work by using just words in the form of resistance. Also her work looks like a Mapuche textile.鈥
Mapuche are the largest group of Indigenous people in South America, known for their textile works (often used as clothing, tools, shelter and status symbols). Perez鈥檚 mural work often references Mapuche textile/weaving patterns as well as indigenous words.听
Their final project drew on Terry鈥檚 expertise in printmaking while creating unique mementos for each participant.听
Students received rubber blocks, like oversized erasers, and learned how to create a stamp by carving a design. They were instructed to create one stamp to represent Valparaiso and one to represent Santiago.
Every student had their own stamp 鈥減assport鈥 to collect images from the group.听
They learned the artistic technique and created personalized keepsakes of the experience that reflect their individual thoughts.听
For one of her stamps, Morgan chose to preserve two seemingly minor moments: when she first saw azulillos, small blue flowers that cover Chile, when arriving in Santiago after a difficult travel journey, and a slice of melon tuna, what Chileans call honeydew, that she shared with Juana Perez while they chatted about art and their views of the world.
鈥淏oth of these small interactions had a bigger impact on me than I thought they would,鈥 she said.听
Glassman chose to mark the intersection between nightlight and nature that she found in Santiago, with a stamp depicting mountains, the sun and moon, and the city.听
鈥淢y parents were overjoyed. Showing them pictures was one thing, but seeing what I created and my perception of the trip was awesome,鈥 she said.
About Study Abroad and the Center for Global Programs and Studies
罢丑别听Center for Global Programs and Services (CGPS) at the 91原创 is home to the operations of 91原创 Global, which includes聽Study Abroad, International Student and Scholar Services, World Scholars Program 补苍诲听Global Outreach and Partnerships.听
In 1923, 91原创 founded聽the first study abroad program by a U.S. institution. Today, 91原创 offers 100+ programs in about 40 countries 鈥 and over 30% of 91原创 undergrads study abroad at least once.
Students choose from semester-long programs in the fall and spring and shorter programs during winter and summer sessions. While abroad, Blue Hens take a full load of academic credits, choose to engage in internships or community service, and sharpen language and intercultural skills. Accommodations range from hotels (for some shorter programs) to residence halls, hostels and homestays.
Scholarships and financial aid are available for 91原创 students participating in 91原创 study abroad programs.听聽
Follow and engage with @91原创Global on聽 and for the latest updates on everything global happening at 91原创 and #91原创Abroad.
Contact Us
Have a 91原创aily story idea?
Contact us at ocm@udel.edu
Members of the press
Contact us at mediarelations@udel.edu or visit the Media Relations website
