On March 12th, the Festival of the Arts was held in the Walton Center after school from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. The festival was open to everyone free of charge. This year marked the festival’s 11th anniversary, as Ms. Noorzay began holding the festival in 2015.

The festival featured many galleries of various art types and classes, highlighting the hard work students have put in throughout the year, and displaying their improvement. The Festival also included a fashion show featuring different cultural attire on the runway, allowing students to celebrate diversity through fashion.

One featured student was Julian Gomez (‘28), who created his own gallery focusing on the recent Preuss student walkout in response to news and concerns regarding ICE. On March 3rd, students left their fifth and sixth block classes to protest together outside the school. 

His display had photographs of the protest, as well as some of the posters used during the protest. His art section was also very popular, with many unique pieces being connected with current events.

“I wanted to show how art can capture important moments and bring awareness to what students care about,” said Gomez (‘28).”

Studio Art students displayed portrait projects created during Black History Month. These portraits included influential figures from The Civil Rights Movement as well as depictions of other human rights efforts. 

“There was so much advocacy this year and so many important moments at our school from what teachers were engaging with to student protests,” said Noorzay. “It naturally became part of the art. I loved seeing that theme come together because it felt like you could understand the entire year just by looking at the artwork.”

“I hope to see more student engagement in the future,” Noorzay expressed. “This time of year is very stressful for students, and this festival is a chance for students to come together and share their voices.”

The festival was still open for students to see the artwork the following day, when teachers brought their students to the Walton Center during their class to go see the art.

 “It feels good knowing that our voices and experiences are being seen and remembered through our art,” said Gomez (‘28).

The festival was a success, giving students the opportunity to showcase their talent, explore different forms of art, and learn what their peers are working on in their art classes. It also provided an engaging experience, especially for Spanish 4 and AP Spanish students who were able to earn extra credit for attending the festival.