Walking around the cafeteria I read the right corner of each piece of art, searching for both the names of my friends as well as my own name. While admiring the talent of my peers I stumble across my own work in the display case with a sense of pride washing over me.
On Friday, April 4, National Art Honor Society (NAHS) will host the Fine Arts Festival which will take place in the cafeteria from 5-7:30 p.m. Every year, our art department hosts this festival with performances from the choir and theatre as well as display cases filled with art from the school’s art classes.
This annual event also includes multiple student-run booths, each with their own art-based activity created by NAHS members. These activities allow students to explore their creative sides, and with the inclusion of the other fine arts performances the environment illustrates all of the different ways a person can express themselves through art.
For senior NAHS officer Makynna Fleming, the community within the festival is very welcoming, and is always a wonderful place to take in the student body’s creativity.
“I think it’s just a very accepting and creative atmosphere,” Fleming said. “It’s really rewarding just getting to see everyone’s work, because they put so much effort into it.”
The festival is an accumulation of all of the NAHS members’ hard work, as preparing and facilitating every part of the event is a very time-consuming job.
According to NAHS sponsor Michelle McCune, the festival simply wouldn’t be possible without the help from the club’s members. Even though the event only lasts a few hours, the weeks leading up to the event require a significant amount of preparation.
“It just takes a lot of organization and the main part of it is that we want to showcase student artwork,” McCune said. “If I didn’t have my NAHS students, it would be really impossible to do because they really come in and help me with the work.”
The Fine Arts Festival is a wonderful way for our school to introduce students to the arts, as well as give them insight into NAHS. For students who aren’t able to fit an art class into their schedule, NAHS is a fantastic opportunity for people to still harness their creativity.
“I think my favorite part is probably being able to build a community within NAHS involving art,” Fleming said. “[It’s nice] to see all the artwork that people worked on throughout the school year.”
McCune also enjoys watching the art community grow through NAHS, especially during the festival, as she thinks peer collaboration is a very important way to grow artistically.
“I really enjoy seeing the community and how they come in and interact with the artwork and the students,” McCune said. “It’s helpful for the students to see what’s going on and to see other art students in their element.”
