If you’ve walked through the halls and seen a plethora of creations dotting the walls, those pieces decorating the hallways would be winners of our school’s Permanent Collection, one of many art shows students participate in. The most recent shows are Chicagoland 4X5, Dukane Conference, and ROE Photography Contest. North has had winners in all of these shows, and has more to come.
The first mentioned show is Chicagoland 4X5, which is composed of art from high schools and middle schools all over the Chicagoland area. The show’s name comes from the requirements of the show. All pieces submitted must be four by five inches. There are multiple categories such as 2D Traditional Art, 2D Media Arts, 3D Traditional Arts, Analog Photography, Computer Generated Imagery, Digital Photography, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Printmaking, Relief and Sculpture. This is a challenge for many artists, as it’s not often that they have to create art with dimensions. Despite this, North still had 30 students who displayed art at the gallery, and five artists received honorable mentions. This show is set up as almost a double elimination for the artists. First, their art has to be judged by the art department here at North. While it is judged, the teachers decide what category it is in and submit 30 projects ranging across all categories. Once they decide their picks, they are sent to the 4X5 judges, who look at the work from all of the schools and pick the best. The winners are selected, and the gallery takes place a few weeks later. For the past few years, it has been held at Oswego High School.
One thing that Chicagoland 4X5 offers that is truly incredible is Portfolio Day. Portfolio Day is a chance for any artist that got into the gallery to put together a portfolio, and have it looked at by fine arts colleges. This is huge for many artists, and it can even lead to scholarships. Personally, when I went, just seeing the colleges and their representatives was eye-opening. The way they talked about art was so heartwarming for a young artist, and they all had such good insights on art.
Chronologically, the next show is The Dukane Art Show. This show is a bit more selective, only taking in 15 pieces of art from North’s entire program. These pieces get displayed at the Norris Cultural Arts Center located at St. Charles East. The gallery was bursting with color and talent. It was a smaller show compared to 4X5, making it feel more intimate. Many artists were viewing others’ works and complimenting them. All of the pieces were amazing, especially North’s.
The final mentioned show is the ROE photo contest. This has been a 10-week contest for all photo students to participate in. Every week there is a new theme, and 10 new winners. It is hosted by the Kane County Regional Office of Education. Many North Star students placed in this show. It is about to close, with this week being the last available week to submit.
This show is by far the most inclusive. Participating in this show as a Photo 1 student; it was absolutely marvelous. Despite the fact many students didn’t place, the prompts were interesting. ROE inspires students to go out and shoot for specific details in the world. It is challenging but also fun, and never disappointing. I encourage you to check out all of the winners and their work on the ROE website.
We have many students that did astoundingly in these shows, they have worked extremely hard to create a piece of work, and represent North everywhere they put that work. Art is hard, and they deserve some recognition for their awards.
In the 4X5 art show, we had five honorable mentions. Congratulations to:
Daniel McNellis, a freshman who placed in the Drawing category.
Hannah Srdanovich, a senior who placed in the Drawing category.
Alan Martinez, a senior who placed in the Computer Generated Imagery category.
Amphi Landrowski, a senior who placed in the Computer Generated Imagery category
Shannon Golly, a junior who placed in the Computer Generated Imagery category.
The students that won awards in the Dukane art show are:
Amphi Landrowski, a senior placing 1st in Digital Illustration.
Gianna Hillebrenner, a junior placing 2nd in Digital Illustration.
Hannah Srdanovich, a senior placing 2nd in Drawing.
Simone Wright, a junior placing 2nd in Sculpture.
Alex Baez, a junior winning an honorable mention in Sculpture.
Finally, the students that have placed in the ROE Student Photography Contest are:
Jasmine Bawa- a freshman, week one winner, under the theme “Kane County Pride.”
Shane Phillips- a sophomore, week two winner, under the theme “Pop of Color.”
Lynn Singh- a sophomore, week three winner, under the theme “Architecture.”
Marshall Isaacson- a sophomore, week 4 winner, under the theme “Action and Adventure.”
Grace Hartmann- a senior, week 5 winner, under the theme “Emotion.”
Brooke Beller- a freshman, week 7 winner, under the theme “School Spirit.”
Jordan Linke- a senior, week week 8 winner, under the theme “Abstract.”
Noah Bajuck- a senior, week 9 winner, under the theme “Bird’s/Worm’s Eye View”
