2021 Student Art Events Go Online

by Hilary Htun

Most people view art to be important because it creates a society with meaningful expression and several cultures. It promotes creativity and recreates the human imagination, which is one of the many reasons why so many districts across the U.S. and internationally have it as a required subject to take throughout students’ school life.

Last year, almost all art events and contests in the capital district were either canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those participating had pieces that took months or even years to create and eventually become unusable. Many people were disappointed by the cancellation, like Kristal Lin, a freshman at Niskayuna, who says ”I was bummed, but also sort of relieved.”

One of the events that were canceled includes the Olympics of the Visual Arts (OVA) that Nisky High School attends every year. It’s an annual event where NYSATA (the New York State Art Teachers Association) hosts a creative problem-solving event. Student teams are entered into a long-term design to create a solution for one of eight categories and participate in a design prompt. For example last year, the categories included mark making (for drawing), the Marriage of Movements (painting), Fashion Trends for 2020 (fashion design), an Artist Superhero (illustration), Artist’s Home (architecture), Artist inspired Jewelry (Jewelry Design), Autobiographical Still Life (photography), and Surrealism (sculpture). Teams were then required to present a portfolio entry of their research, planning, and iterations that led them to the final design. It’s a friendly competition among students across New York that allows them to interact with others about art and different types of works.

This year, OVA is hosting a 2021 Virtual Event with the same prompts as last year. The portfolio and work will be presented digitally in a Google Slideshow following a specific format that’s given before the submission deadline. The fee is $15.00 per team, and the registration is due by February 12, 2021.

Another event that is open to Nisky students is the SPAC Festival of Young Artists (SPACFOYA). It’s an annual event held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center that presents arts shows, poetry, and live performances from hundreds of artists as well as dancers, singers, and musicians.

Pallavi Datta, a student at Niskayuna HS, was the top winner for the 2020 FOYA artwork for exhibit “Self-Portrait” where she expressed herself artistically. She describes her piece in the following way, “This artwork was an attempt to express my journey learning how to embrace my Indian heritage and the American culture I’ve grown up with. I chose to do a collage because although the process can be tedious, I love how all the individual parts coalesce to form the piece.” Along with her art award, Pallavi also won a poetry award for writing the poem, “Uprooted” where she meticulously narrates her experience in Kolkata.

With the next exhibition on it’s way, SPAC is accepting submissions for the next Adirondack Trust Company FOYA Online Gallery. This gallery is planned to be launched in March 2021, with SPAC inviting high school students from across New York. It’s aimed to be themed with “METAMORPHOSIS” for the upcoming spring season. There will be three categories: Visual Art, Literary Art, and the Performing Art. The three selected winners for each category will become a “FOYA 2021 Outstanding Artist” and receive a $500.00 award to support their craft. The deadline to submit work for this next exhibition is February 1st, 2021.

Mrs. Romm, a drawing and painting teacher at Niskayuna, also recently held an online art contest for her students. Following the inauguration of President Biden, they were required to create an illustration for “The Hill We Climb” which was written by Amanda Gorman, an African-American poet and activist who became the youngest to deliver a poem at an inauguration. The students are given five days to work and build on the illustration. Then after anonymous student voting, the work that received the most votes for portraying the poem the best would get a prize in exchange. Mrs. Romm is one of the many art teachers who were able to make these fun contests, and she helped in opening many art opportunities for students. So a special thank you to the art teachers for continuing to work hard to provide students with materials and chances to express themselves through art. If you have any questions about the previous events or simply want to thank her personally, you can email Mrs. Romm at jromm@niskyschools.org