A few weeks ago, the Fun and Arts Club made Greeley history by hosting the first ever student-run art show. This event was all over the school boards, featured on Instagram, and was highlighted on the district website and Student Life. Two students turned this vision into reality: Emily V. and Allison G.
Emily , a junior, and Allison, a senior, are the presidents of the Fun and Arts Club, which centers on creating art for different causes and communities. For the Winter Art Show, members of the club, as well as students outside of it, contributed various forms of artwork, including illustration, architecture, fashion, and painting. Emily described the show as a passion project, one that required her to reach out to various students and learn to organize a large-scale event for the first time. The response exceeded expectations: in just two weeks, over 70 pieces were submitted. Despite the challenges, Emily was “very passionate about what [the club was] doing.” Seeing everything come together and hanging up artwork made the project feel tangible, as if to say, we did this, she explained. Members of the Greeley community came together to give students an opportunity to showcase their work—“it is an amazing thing,” Emily remarked. Allison G. added that she is “now able to understand the hard work that goes into planning and displaying art,” gaining “a newfound appreciation for museums and galleries”.
Besides organizing the event, Emily and Allison also contributed various pieces to the show: Allison shared artwork created with oil and charcoal, and Emily showcased digital illustrations. Athena Z., a sophomore, submitted several pieces towards the show as well. She noted that she felt like it was “a great opportunity to showcase what [had been] done outside of school.” For her, the whole experience proved to be a great opportunity to connect with the community. Arjun J., also a sophomore, whose work was featured in the show, explained that he has always been passionate about art and was able to express creativity through “referencing photos that looked nice” in order to recreate several pieces he had seen online. Chloe C. remarked that her biggest passions are art and architecture, so through her work she was able to combine the pieces to create “something [she was] proud of.”
Many students who submitted artwork are also involved in a wide range of activities. Despite their busy schedules, they manage to set time aside for one of their favorite tasks: creating art. Emily balances her passion for art with Greeley’s Science Research program, along with her role as Director of Print Media at The Greeley Voice and Art Director of Science Greeley, the school’s science-centered publication. Both Allison and Athena are involved in track, and Athena is also a member of the Greeley Debate Team.
Through this show, students submitted art created without a filter, a living representation of their raw emotions and views and “a reminder of how wonderful and beautiful the world can be,” says Ms. Flores, one of Greeley’s assistant principals. It’s “an amazing preview of what is to come, [and] feels like an appetizer leading up to the wonderful entree: the May festival of arts”.
And if this first show is any indication, Greeley’s artistic future looks nothing short of extraordinary.
