A Virtual Art Show: Aspiring to Inspire

From hardship emerges creativity. From creativity emerges hope for a brighter future. Desiring the chance to do their part in designing this bright future, SBS art students spread their messages through their craft.  

Recently, SBS artists showcased their talent and hard work through a series of virtual art shows. Motivated by the challenges the coronavirus places upon participating in typical school activities, the Arts Department created a series of videos exhibiting its students’ art in order to safely and effectively share their impressive works.

This exciting event kicked off with middle school art presented in video form. Middle school art teacher Sarah McKeon proudly stepped back and allowed her pupils the space to present their own artwork. Viewers were able to not only enjoy the expressions of creativity visually, but they heard from the artists themselves about their creative processes. In one project, “A Walk in my Shoes,” students drew their favorite pair of shoes. The video shared the personal experiences of these students to allow others to “walk in their shoes.” Middle school art students allowed others to vicariously experience their feelings while learning themselves how to channel their emotions and passions through art. With this sentiment in mind, Peyton Walsh ‘26 wisely asserts, "It's not about what you see, but how you feel."

The upper school art show featured a diverse group of projects that included digital art, a study into color, vision board projects, a branding exploration and even the participation of some students in creating the set for the middle school musical, Disney’s Frozen Jr. Upper school students greatly appreciate and thoroughly enjoy the “opportunity to put any stress or feelings into artwork” (Emily Hardin ‘21) that upper school art teacher GeAnna Manners provides her classes with. As senior Lauryn Edwards ‘21 remarks, art “has been a great creative outlet for me to explore this past semester, and art class always helps me destress during the school day.”

In upper school honors and AP art classes, students receive more freedom to form their art around their own ideas and values. Their teacher Nora Ripple remarks, “At the AP level, advanced art students are given the reigns and form an inquiry, an idea they want to explore through art.” The honors and AP virtual art show showcased these inquiries to capture each individual student’s essence and shared it with the SBS community.

Although the Fall Art Show did not proceed in the usual fashion, these beautiful displays of student creativity through video may now become a keepsake for the young artists to look back on fondly for years to come. Art students were successful in their aspiration to inspire our SBS community with their talented artistic displays.