Student artists from all grade levels displayed their artwork during the Monroe-Woodbury District Art Show between Friday, May 5 to Sunday, May 7.
Pieces are selected by a student’s teacher based on the creativity and workmanship shown by the student. The teacher then chooses the pieces which they believe exhibit the most quality and effort.
Elementary art teachers aim to select work that “represents the elementary school curriculum the best” according to Ms. McGuckin, the art department coordinator. In the high school, they choose work to “highlight the many art courses that M-W has to offer and the success of these students.”
Planning for the show began in the fall with a meeting with all of the district’s art administrators. They discuss possible changes that need to be made for the next show as well as things that should remain the same like how to organize the art or the date to have the event.
Along with showing single art pieces based on grade and topic, another particular detail of the art show are the senior art major exhibitions.
Art majors are students who have a particular interest in studying the arts in high school. They take at least three credits worth of art classes, with certain classes being mandatory to take. Another requirement for an art major sequence is to design and participate in an individual exhibition showing their portfolio during their senior year. This means that the art majors prepare various pieces of art to put on display for the public to see that show how developed their art styles are and any particular media or subjects they favor.
The art majors were very happy with how smoothly the art show went and the way their exhibitions were completed and looked.
“I love being able to talk about my art and have people interested in it. I also liked being around other artists and doing so many projects this year for it all to be put up!” said Eryn Sammut.
“They have the opportunity to show their work in a setting like this. We have had younger students who came and got to see the seniors’ works, and it gives them the opportunity to see that we have programs like this,” said Ms. McGuckin. “It’s exciting to see the students so happy to see their work out of the classroom and only display.”
Seven Diaz, a junior, volunteered to help run the opening night of the show and said, “There is a lot of dedication to the work, and you can see it in the show. A lot of little kids came, which made me very happy, and our [National Art Honor Society] merchandise sold out!”
Her favorite area of the show was the senior art major exhibitions. The elaborate areas they created to show their passion and focus on particular mediums and subjects drew her into their work.
“Art is really important for expressing yourself in a unique manner. Everyone’s stuff looks amazing, and there was a high turnout to support the art majors and department as a whole,” said Sophie Marseille, a junior, who also volunteered for the show.
“It went amazing, and it was packed the entire weekend. The show is the equivalent of a championship game or final musical. It’s an accumulation of all that artists’ hard work being put on display for a final showing for the world to see,” said Mrs. Pesce, an art teacher.
“Everyone had their own tasks and jobs and collaborated so well. The administration, board of education, our colleagues, everybody was so supportive. It went really well because of all that,” added Ms. McGuckin.