IB students showcased their art pieces in an exhibition March 6 in the small lecture hall. As the first graduating class of the IB program, it’s the first time they held an art exhibition in order to complete one of three assessments required for IB students. 

“The pieces, you can see, are very different from each other,” IB art teacher Ms. Roth said. “While some projects are very obvious, some other pieces are understood better with the text.…[the projects] progress and change overtime because we’ve been working with the same theme over such a long period of time.” 

The art pieces for the exhibition are completed over a time period of two years. Most students chose one theme to focus on, and the exhibit required them to create art pieces that are cohesive. 

“To make our pieces, you had to think universally,” senior Bikram Singh said. “Sometimes I felt really rushed, [but] it was fun getting to show off all the stuff I’ve been working on and all the skills I got to develop. I just really enjoyed getting to show off my hard work.”

Singh completed a coalition of art pieces about the cultural and social effects of war from various perspectives. 

“I wanted to take it from a different angle,” Singh said. “I wanted to look at the culture and social aspects and identities of soldiers and show no matter what your background is, everyone takes up the call in the U.S.”

Senior Caroline Denison created eight art pieces around the theme of ‘home.’ Her project consisted of several mediums of art including photography, drawing, watercolor painting and acrylic painting. 

“My favorite part of the event was seeing all of my family, friends and teachers come and support me and my classmates at the exhibition,” Denison said. “ After doing so much work and putting in so much time for this event, having people come and appreciate our art was so rewarding and made it all worth it. Another one of my favorite parts of the exhibition was being able to do it with my friends.”

Since the class of 2020 is the first graduating class of the IB program, this is the first exhibition the students have showcased their art. 

“I think that this gave me a lot of confidence in my art skills and my ability to pull off something as professional as an art exhibit,” Denison said. “Although it was just for school and it wasn’t an official art exhibition, it was still the most exciting and most fulfilling project I have ever done. I definitely grew as an artist throughout the year and it’s an experience I won’t ever forget.”

The exhibition was held with everyone’s art hung alongside student descriptions for the IB teachers, coordinators and public to see. 

“I didn’t imagine so many people were going to stop by after school on a Friday,” Roth said. “Having the room completely filled made me a little emotional because you’re so focused on getting [everything] displayed and when you [finally] step back, you get to appreciate, as a class, the work they’ve done together. It’s pretty amazing.”