R.I.P. Art Fest
NEIRAD enilno edition
For the past couple of years, students have frolicked through the courtyard displaying the colorful artwork of classmates across their faces. From unique designs to animal whiskers, the color splashed across cheeks against the piercing sunlight of a nearing summer sun can only represent a day where not just painting is displayed but all forms of art at DHS: the annual DHS Art Fair.
Each spring Darien High School holds an Art Festival presenting a variety of different art techniques and mediums, ranging from wood working to silk screening. The art festival has become an innovative way to involve students in different activities that they may be interested in enrolling in.
However, the 2011 Art Festival has been through an abundance of setbacks this year as it has struggled to make a comeback, resulting in the grim fact that there will be no art festival this year at DHS.
As the art festival approached and the Art Department began to consider how they would handle it on top of the Senior Art Show, a group of AP art students took it upon themselves to try and create a modified art festival.
Assistant Principal Michael Sullivan and art teacher Mr. Sorenson stepped in to be the advisers to this committee. “This year with the Senior Art Show, which has become a large production, the art department decided the festival was too much to put together,” said Mr. Sorenson.
He explained that the art department feels that a more realistic approach to the art festival would be to have the fair every other year. He encouraged that a committee should be established amongst art students and teachers so that the fair could be more organized in upcoming years.
The group of AP students that were willing to take on this challenge this year included several devoted art students including seniors Emily Ackers, Bella Carerra, Ally Reis, Megan Keane, Ingrid Lundeen, Jen Dorris, and Emma Getsinger. Ackers explained that these seven had met collectively multiple times. “We figured out a budget and found people willing to contribute, we designed flyers and music was already rehearsing to play something. We got the ukulele department to commit to play something and the dance team. We made all the arrangements but the support was not there,” said Ackers.
Ackers explained that as the Festival date approached things started to fall apart with the support from the administration. Ackers felt that the administration could have handled the cancellation better, “It was really disappointing for all of us especially since they left it until the week before to let us know after we’d done so much.” However, Assistant Principal Donna Russo said, “We basically did not have the full support of the Art Department, they wanted to do it every other year so they could focus on their Senior Art Show so the fair did not lose popularity.” With the lack of support from several departments, time weighed in as one of the biggest factors. “This year not many people volunteered to help with the fair. It’s the senior art students who really wanted to take on the fair. Due to the time constraint we would have had to cut so much out of the fair,” junior Elyssa Ganser said, who was going to be a face painter at the fair.
No matter where the blame may lie, the art festival will permanently be held every other year.
“I love the art festival. I am going to be sad to see it go this year especially because it’s my senior year and it’s always a lot of fun,” senior Grant Nelson said.
However, with the disappointment surrounding the absence of this year’s fair, new hope and ideas have surfaced which are being considered by the Art Department, “This is really a great opportunity for the Art Department to be more student based, so that juniors and sophomore art students can see organizing the art festival as a responsibility,” said Mr. Sorenson, who believes that integrating the organization of the art festival into the curriculum could be a fun and interactive way for students to play a bigger role in the department.
In previous years the art festival has focused on uniting different departments to involve students in various styles of art, however without the art festival this year many new departments will be called upon to take part in the art fair next year. Programs such as the jazz band, and other music ensemble groups will be an enjoyable addition to the festivities in upcoming years
Although the art festival will not be occurring this year, the festival has not gone down without a fight. On May 20th several students involved in efforts to organize the fair wore shirts reading, “RIP Art Fest 2011,” and painted faces in celebration of a day that the entire DHS community will continue to look forward to.
