The Arts Council of Greater Weston, the City of Weston, and Friends of the Library were all delighted with the 2024 Student Artist Showcase. In its 17th year, this exhibit hung at the Weston Branch Library for the month of April.
This year, we produced a phenomenal exhibit with 236 pieces of student artwork from Pre-K through 12th grade from our 14 greater area Weston schools. The awards reception was also an increase in attendance; approximately 400 student artists and their families, school art staff, school administration, and community members came together to celebrate the showing. Arts Council Board members and City of Weston Commissioners presented each artist with their certificate of participation, ribbon, and a souvenir SAS 2024 cookie.
Art is not just about creating something beautiful; it is about expressing oneself, challenging perceptions, and sparking conversations. Each piece showcased tells a unique story, reflecting the diverse experiences and perspectives of our student artists. SAS Director, Gryssele Machicote shared, “How proud I am to have been able to coordinate an exhibit which celebrates the power of art to inspire, to provoke, and to unite us all. As we honor our talented artists, let us be reminded of the profound impact that art can have on our lives and our world. To all our student artists may your creative journey continue to unfold with boundless imagination and endless possibilities.”
This annual exhibition celebrates work being created in the classrooms of our Weston area schools. The art teacher at each school selects the works created by their students. Creative and critical thinking are essential skills to the current and future success of our students, as highlighted in STEAM, which includes the Arts. We highly encourage the arts in our schools to foster creativity and innovation in all of young artists.
This year we had 3 qualified judges from the arts community participate in the selection of grade placement winners: abstract artist Juliana Sierra, geometric abstract artist Migdaly Montenegro, and mixed media artist Lifrancis Rojas. Lifrancis Rojas noted,
“As a juror for the Student Artist Showcase (SAS) in Weston, I had the pleasure of evaluating an exceptional group of young artists. Once again, Weston students have showcased their boundless creativity, passion, and mastery of various art techniques. This year, we were
Treated to a diverse range of mediums including acrylics, watercolors, graphite, charcoal, markers, collage and more. We saw surrealism, pointillism, geometrics abstracts, realism, landscapes, hyperrealism, and more. The level of creativity exhibited by SAS artists knows no bounds. Judging was a challenging task as every artwork deserved recognition. My heartfelt congratulations to all SAS participants! You are all remarkable artists. Credit must also be given to your art teachers for their guidance and support in nurturing your talents.
The art teachers from Western High School commented, “Everything from the amazing art exhibit to the programs, the ceremony, the photo area, the image on the cookies, the certificates and ribbons were amazing.”
