The traveling exhibition The Fourth Grade Project features 72 photographs by Judy Gelles. Over the past decade, Judy Gelles (1944-2020) interviewed and photographed more than 300 fourth-grade students from a range of economic and cultural backgrounds in China, Dubai, England, India, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, South Africa, South Korea, and multiple areas of the United States. This art project connects children locally and globally, building bridges and tearing down walls.

The Fourth Grade Project connects viewers locally and globally, bridging cultural differences by fostering a strong, tolerant, and global student community. The project helps to decrease isolation and prejudice while asserting that every person’s story matters. The exhibition is accompanied by interactive resources for museum educators and teachers, with lesson plans and programming ideas focusing on global understanding and tolerance.

The Fourth Grade Project is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.