Suppose you want to unleash your creativity or just enjoy art. Whether you’re an artist or passerby, it’s an opportunity to connect with others, unwind, or learn more about art.
The art gallery at John Dewey High School is a place where students display their art. Students view other people’s artwork and art students get to learn how to improve their art. At the end of the art gallery, they announce a raffle where the winner gets to win art supplies.
Even if you aren’t part of the art academy, Kelly Simonsen, the AP art teacher at John Dewey High School, or Samantha Escalera, the art teacher and senior advisor at John Dewey High School, will pick out art from kids who are not part of the art academy but still take art to display at the gallery.
“Talking to other art teachers, not in NYC, but on facebook pages I’m part of for art teachers-…-were displaying artworks at the end of the year to congratulate and say what a great job their kids did” said Ms. Simonsen. “And I wanted that for our kids.”
“For me, it’s exciting to watch you guys be happy to present your work-” said Ms. Escalera. ” It forces you to be outside of your comfort zone and look at all this positive reaction-…-So i’m just like opening the door for you. That’s really it.”
The art gallery was made to congratulate and give the art students a confidence boost for the progress they made so far and to be more comfortable about showing off art. Especially if you’re a senior who took art for 4 years, you can see how much your art has grown since freshman year.
“The art gallery is a beautiful thing to allow students to get some exposure for their talents, gifts, and abilities”, said Dallas Redmond, an art student who participated at the gallery. ” Would recommend it to other artists. It’ll help them to not be shy about their work.”
On one hand, the art gallery benefited students. Art students were also able to identify areas of improvement. It also provided them an opportunity to socialize and unite as a community while getting to know other artists. The setup helped promote a sense of camaraderie among the art students. However, Evelyn Ramos , also an art student of the arts academy, had something else to add.
“I love the sense of camaraderie that we had during the setup process-…- trying to get things done”, said Evelyn. “We had a lot of artists but we didn’t have space, so a lot of kids weren’t able to display their art”
On the other hand, some art students say it didn’t benefit them, stating the gallery wasn’t the most practical way to share art due to some art students not being able to display their art. Sometimes this was due to equipment issues and lack of space for the art.
“I wasn’t able to put up my work in the art gallery”, said Nimra Arif, an arts academy student. “But it was still an enjoyable experience to see all that artwork and talk to the other artist.”
The art gallery can be a perfect place for you to go through something new. There’s a lot of art to surround yourself with and for you to appreciate. You can also talk to the artists that made these master pieces or learn new things about art. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to join us, on May 29, 2025 at John Dewey High School’s Annual Art Gallery after 8th period at 2:15 pm.
