By: Gaby Maldonado
White Plains High School's art department celebrated its annual Portfolio Week Showcase Reception on Mar. 13, sharing students’ artwork in the auditorium lobby.
From photography, ceramics, fashion and more, the showcase displayed various student artwork from different art courses. Viewers toured the exhibit, appreciating over 20 pieces of original art.
Next to the displays were short statements from the artists, explaining the inspiration, importance, and creative processes behind their works. One display featured photographs of nature and three ceramic pieces. The senior artist, Anjeli Garay, was excited to share her work with the community.
“I took Intro to Photography my freshman year, which was during the pandemic. It was kind of hard when I began Intermediate Photography this year, because I didn’t know how to use the equipment or use the darkroom. But I learned about the different film processes over time, and I got inspired to sign up for the art exhibit. I decided to have one last memory to show my artwork,” said Anjeli.
Artist Len Astudillo expressed her joy in contributing to the showcase, emphasizing her passion for representing the Latinx community. "The reason I chose to share my artwork in the show was because I was proud of creating something that I could see myself in. Creating something with more Latinx and brown people of color representation, as growing up I felt the lack thereof within media. Currently, my main medium of art is digital and this year I have taken many new approaches,” said Len.
The exhibition was highly praised by visitors, which included the families of the featured students. “It’s nice to have opportunities to see my daughter’s artwork displayed and to see the other students’ display as well,” said one attendee.
Ceramics teacher Ms. O'Keeffe highlighted the difficulty in choosing just a few art pieces to showcase. “They had so much beautiful work and then trying to whittle it down to the best five-six-seven pieces was hard. But they really pulled it out as you can see in the show, they did a great job,” said Ms. O'Keeffe.
Offering advice to those who want to study art after high school, Director of Fine Arts Mr. West emphasized the importance of exploring various media. “You know, a lot of kids love ceramics, but they just take ceramics and never venture out into other things, or they just take drawing. They might not like all the media, but experiencing each of them will help them be a better artist,” said Mr. West.
From jewelry pieces to digital animations, the Portfolio Week Showcase was a great success, with each display showcasing the immense talent, creativity, and dedication of students.