Students get Creative at the Washington College Innovation Plant

The Innovation Plant, a former factory and a future hub for inventors and entrepreneurs, has just had a facelift. Fifty paid high schoolers and Washington student interns participating in this year’s Hip Hop Time Capsule summer program painted a colorful mural on the building’s exterior at 800 High Street, Chestertown. The mural is the most visible product of a program that taught workforce skills and civic leadership through art and music collaborations. 

As part of the two-week program, students did mural painting, printmaking, metal fabrication, woodworking, and music production, all while gaining hands-on experience in public speaking, workplace culture, and team building. During the first week, the students explored hip hop as a genre, toured the historic Uptown Chestertown neighborhood, and visited the town’s newest public art installations. They participated in mini-workshops with seasoned artists and designers, allowing each student to explore different creative arts before specializing in one for the second week.  

“Our student interns came together to learn a number of skills and trades, to reflect on our community’s past and future, and to make their mark on this evolving property at the heart of Chestertown,” said Patrick Nugent, the Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. Director of Civic Engagement at Washington College.  

Beyond the artistic endeavors, Hip Hop Time Capsule is a powerful incubator for personal and professional growth. High school students not only honed their creative skills, but also built confidence in public speaking, resume writing, professional development, and civic leadership. They worked shoulder-to-shoulder with college mentors and seasoned professionals in an environment that was both dynamic and creatively charged.

“This ambitious initiative guided student interns through a transformative journey,” said Darius Johnson, director of the Chesapeake Heartland Project. “Students built trust, overcame fears, developed employable skills, and analyzed their community with critical eyes.”

Washington College students served as interns in the program, cultivating leadership and teaching skills, assisting with icebreakers, guiding their high school counterparts, and actively contributing to the projects. Their involvement offered invaluable professional development, enhancing their resumes significantly.

The Chesapeake Heartland Project at the Washington College Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience developed an expansive digital archive of materials documenting the African American history and culture of Kent County, Maryland. From this, the Hip Hop Time Capsule first blossomed in the summer of 2021. Kent County teenagers and Washington College students forged connections with musicians, college professors, and museum professionals to research, document, and interpret the rich tapestry of local African American music history. They drew from the Chesapeake Heartland’s interviews and music to craft their own beats and musical compilations, even reinterpreting historic images for their cover art.  

This summer, Hip Hop Time Capsule turned its focus to the historic site at 800 High Street. Students from Kent, Talbot, Cecil, and Queen Anne’s counties immersed themselves in the multifaceted history of this location—a journey spanning its early 20th-century industrial beginnings, its time as Vita Foods, then Dixon Valve, and finally, its anticipated future as the Washington College Innovation Plant. Students drew inspiration from the site’s complex past to forge creations, including the mural, that celebrate its history and beautify the property.

—Dominique Ellis-Falcon