Creative energy filled the air in Everett as students came together to celebrate their creativity and dedication. The art, dance, and acting reflect not just talent but the countless hours of passion and perseverance. Community Art Night on April 10 was a night to showcase the hard work and imagination of young artists, showcasing the beauty that emerges when creativity is embraced.
“Community Art Night began over 10 years ago by [then-department head] Amanda Gil as an opportunity to connect the community with the visual art department in EPS. Originally, it was a K-8 event with artwork and activities, while EHS hosted a senior art night,” art teacher Lyndsay Thanawitsuk said
“Our art students work in all different types of media, disciplines, and concentrations,” art department head Brianna Pierce said. “As teachers, we work hard to provide a wide range of art opportunities to students in a wide range of media. This creates a vast array of breadth and body of work for the show. This also provides our young artists with the opportunity to build their skills in a variety of media, disciplines, and concentrations, giving them an advantage when applying to art school.”
“The gallery in the library is specifically grades 9-12, but downstairs in the cafeteria, outside in the main vestibule, and the second floor was elementary and middle school work. So this whole event, this whole evening is K-12,” art teacher Evan DeMarzo said.
The night started at 6 p.m. with student ambassadors welcoming spectators. The first floor featured incredible walls full of drawings from third graders. Near the elevator you could find clay, cardboard houses, and pipe cleaners from second graders. The hallway showcased the graphic design classes’ symmetrical Mandala digital drawings. The cafeteria hosted were many art-based activities such as face painting, drawing, and painting.
“I enjoyed seeing the K-8 artwork the most and was happy to see theater have a visual component and character development,” Thanawitsuk said.
“The inspiration is to honor our students’ talent and hard work in visual, theatre, and dance arts while sharing their talents with their families, friends, and the community,” Pierce said
On the second floor, there were displays of many different styles from students in grades 4-8. In the auditorium, there were theatre performances from younger kids to older kids, including “Rotten to the Core” from “The Descandents” as well as songs from “Annie.” One monologue was about performance anxiety. There were beautiful dances representing Haitian culture. Two people danced romantically, another one performed ballet.
“The hard work and perseverance of all of our excellent students,” Josephine Dougan said.
On the fifth floor, the high school students’ artwork was held. Entering the library, viewers experienced lanterns handing over their heads. Six colorful skateboards painted all colored differently hung nearby, including one with a light blue snake on a branch of a tree going near an apple, reminiscent of Adam and Eve from the Bible. There were different cases of plushies from the Fiber 1 and 2 classes, one of which is a platypus being held up.
“Students created abstract paintings, and then cut them up and rearranged and composed them into a final image,” Demarzo said. “It was cool to see the brush strokes and paint splotches. One of my favorite pieces–there are quite a few–but Anne Souza’s mixed media piece was really something special.”
Another case had soaps, jewelry with rings, earrings, bracelets. from Studio Art 1-3, Sculpture classes 1-2, Advanced Sculpture with pinch pots, coil pots, house jewelry, etc. Big paintings from the AP Art classes. Photography, Printmaking are some other classes shown in Fine Arts Night. Colorful drawings from a senior Rhyannon Wisniewski, told an intricate and meaningful story.
“The Community Art Night is super important, because art is everywhere,” DeMarzo said. “Art makes life better. Without art, life would kinda just be boring. It’s inspiring to start with nothing and then create something and have something physical and tangible at the end.”
“The most enjoyable part of this event is seeing how happy it made everyone,” Pierce said. “Families, friends, and the community were able to share so many special moments together, from making art together in the cafe, to the cheers and applause from the live theatre and dance performances in the Performing Arts Centre, to the hugs and photos students took with their artwork and loved ones. This event encapsulated those special moments and I think brings us closer together as a community.”
“It takes months for all the educators to compile a collection of work to showcase students’ creative concepts and technical expertise,” Thanawitsuk said.
The efforts of art director Brianna Pierce and the incredible team of art teachers and faculty who brought this show to life were nothing short of remarkable. Their dedication and countless hours spent over the past months have created a space for students to truly express themselves.
