The Paul Mellon Arts Center, Choate’s artistic hub, has recently given an opportunity to students who do not typically do work there to display their artistic talent. The annual Student Art Exhibition opened on March 24 to all members of the Choate community. Most of the student pieces are on display in the PMAC Gallery, as well as the Chapel and Hill House Lobby.
The exhibition features artwork that was made by students from all forms who took visual art classes in the fall and winter term. Many of the art courses are in the exhibition, including Core Concepts, Black and White Photography, Digital Photography, Weaving, Ceramics, Jewelry, Digital Media Design, and Life Drawing. The work that is on display ranges from beautiful, intricate weaving designs to digital collages. The exhibition allows prospective students to see the diversity of artistic talents and opportunities student have at Choate.
Kathryn Phillips ’20, who took Black and White Photography during winter term, is one of the many students in the show. The class was a chance for Phillips to explore her artistic side of photography. The end of term assignment was for the students to pick their three favorite pictures that they took during the term. Phillips seized the opportunity, saying, “I chose three photos that I felt represented my favorite type of photography: portraits.” Phillips’ final project consisted of three photos and her inspiration was “reflections and pictures that represent multiple perspectives.” One of the portraits is of Andrew Garver ’17. “The picture of Garver was ultimately to get people who know his fun personality to see another side of him,” said Phillips. She added, “The class was a great way for me to explore my passion of photography more professionally.”
Diva Jain ’17, a supporter of the visual arts, took Figure Drawing with arts teacher Ms. Jessica Cuni this past winter. She believes in the importance of “all student work being shown, even (that of) introductory classes.” She added, “Many students make visual artwork after school that isn’t being shown.”
The exhibition is one of the few opportunities that students who do work for classes or after school get to publicly show their work. Jain said “Visual art cannot simply be shown at school meeting as easily as theatre or music, so to be able to have it displayed openly is really cool.” Jain offered a suggestion to make student artwork more prominent on campus. She said,“It would be amazing to have more events like this on display in the PMAC more frequently. The support it fosters is truly amazing.”
The next time school meeting ends early, stay afterwards and go see the fantastic artwork that your peers have put on display.
