As the Grum Project celebrates its 10th year at Williston Northampton School, the signature visiting artist series brought Kiel Johnson to campus in September for the first residency of the 2026-27 academic year.
Johnson, a Los Angeles-based artist, works with groups to create fun and interesting art projects out of cardboard. For this trip to Williston, he worked with students and faculty members to create three-dimensional cardboard letters, spelling out the final stanza of the school’s alma mater, O Williston.
The idea for the project was borne out of Johnson’s work with large corporations like Google. On some of his stops, he had employees at the companies create the cardboard letters, but for shorter phrases.
“I just thought at that time how cool would it be to do a longer form version of that with young people,” Johnson said.
So instead of shorter, inspirational quotes—“that might have been a little more focused on the arts kids”—Johnson thought about what kind of longer phrase or statement he could make. Wendy Staples, the Grum Project Director, then stepped in and introduced the idea of the alma mater.
The one logistical issue was sourcing all of the cardboard. With over 150 characters to make, a simple run through recycling bins on campus wasn’t enough. That’s when the Williston community came through. Middle Schooler Braden Kouflie ’31 and his family stepped in with a donation. His mother, Elizabeth Kouflie, owns Commonwealth Packaging in nearby Chicopee, and Commonwealth Packaging donated all of the cardboard used during the project.
The work happened over the better part of a week, both in arts classes during the day and during open studio hours at night. Johnson was an ever-present figure in the sessions. For him, the journey to creating is just as important as the final product.
“It’s not about making that bronze sculpture that’s going to sit outside forever,” Johnson said. “I’m really into what I call the ‘quilting circle mentality’ where we’re all around a table just talking, and there’s a different type of energy. If we went on a hike right now, we would have a conversation; if we went to dinner, it would be something different. But if you and I sat here and just made stuff together, there’s something different that happens.”
That “something different” showed up as Johnson spoke. With students working during the interview, it was clear to see one student make progress on a letter, hold it up for their friends to look at, then a steady burst of laughter and giggles as jokes were cracked.
“It’s not about the finished product as it is the social aspect of working together to achieve a larger goal,” Johnson said. “A lot of people do workshops where you leave with your mask or your little painting; I try to do these projects where you really don’t leave with anything but the memories and the experience, and what you leave is a little something that creates a bigger, beautiful thing as a group.”
It’s worth noting, too, that this is Johnson’s second visit to Williston. A Grum artist in January 2020, Johnson’s first trip had students build trophies out of cardboard. For Staples, it was an easy decision to invite Johnson back.
“It’s because his artwork is really accessible to anyone,” Staples said. “It’s simple shapes, easy construction—you could really use boxes from everywhere, right? This is something that you can make art out of what you have around you. And I think Kiel’s energy is just exciting. He plays with imagination and I think that’s really accessible for kids.”
The results of Johnson’s 2026 project will be on display in the Sabina Cain Family Athletic Center, hanging above Court 2. Learn more about Johnson and his work on his website, and read more about his 2020 visit in this article from our website.