All Oak Hills High School students electing to enroll in an Art and Design Department course will develop an Appreciation of the Arts, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Interdisciplinary Connections, Social and Global Awareness, and Career Preparation related to Visual Communication.
Over the past semester, OHHS Art and Design student Tyler-Tuong Tran worked to create an informational brochure for SOS ART. SOS ART began in 2003 as an art exhibit and an art festival with related events and publications concerning issues of peace and justice as expressed by Greater Cincinnati artists. The annual art event grew to include, in addition to the works of established artists, artwork by school and after-school children; also to engage children through classroom visits and workshops. SOS ART has since expanded its various activities through more art exhibits and art events, more workshops and wider educational programs, expanded publications, greater media presence, and more dynamic public engagement, all around issues of peace and justice.
Under the guidance of OHHS Art and Design teacher Francine Gibson, and in collaboration with SOS ART founder Saad Ghosn, Tyler was able to engage in a real-world client-based experience which resulted in an end product that will be shared across the region.
“The Memory Project” is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty.
This year, students in Ms. Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking class at OHHS created 20 portraits for Syrian children who are displaced and living in refugee camps as a result of the civil war raging for a decade in their country, resulting in one of the most complex humanitarian crisis in the world. Many of the children have lived in camps with makeshift tents and shelters for years, being kept alive by donated food from foreign governments and aid agencies. This is the only life many of these children have known.
The ultimate goal of the project is to create portraits to help the children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to act as meaningful pieces of personal history in the future. The project also provides an opportunity for students to practice kindness and global awareness.
This year’s participation brings the total of portraits the students have created for Syrian children over the years to 115! Over the past seven years, Drawing and Printmaking and NAHS students have created over 420 portraits for children in Madagascar, the Philippines, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, Puerto Rico, the Rohingya in Rakhine, Columbia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone.
“Celebrating Art” is devoted to the promotion and appreciation of student art. The intent of their student art contest is to motivate student artists. The top entries are published in an anthology that will record the creative works of today’s student artists.
Students recently submitted work and 66 OHHS Art and Design students were invited to be published in the Spring 2023 “Celebrating Art”! Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for the “Top Ten Artist” and “High Merit Artist” awards will be completed and announced soon. The following students should feel honored. This is not a contest where every entry is invited to be published and is a highly selective competition. Thousands of entries were not invited to be published. Being published represents a lot of talent, hard work, and dedication from students.
Congratulations to the following students:
From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Art Foundations, and Studio Art AP 3D Design, 2D Design, and Drawing classes:
Anna Ackman Isabelle Barkley Anna Caito Lindsay Curless Scout Estes John Gray Molly Lorenz Kate Myers Sophia Osborne Ethan Ridder Marshall Shorten Jordan Tinsley Tiffany Truong Lydia Wilson Rachel Wunderlich Sarah Young
Anna AckmanIsabelle BarkleyAnna CaitoLindsay CurlessScout EstesJohn GrayMolly LorenzKate MyersSophia OsborneEthan RidderMarshall ShortenJordan TinsleyTiffany TruongLydia WilsonRachel WunderlichSarah Young
From Amb’s Art Foundations, Graphic Art Foundations, and Ceramicsclasses:
Breonna Barker Mia Cortez Julian Cortez Sid Doering Jack Ebbers Megan Huffman Natalee Kilburn Kendayln Kress Addison Kress Chloe Linnig Evelyn Mendez-Coronado Taylor Messer Maria Pitchford De-Janay Reid Michelle Schwetschenau Devin Shields Alexis Singson Bella Tucker Naveah Withers
The “Race and the City – Art” book documents the 2022 SOS ART project that consisted of artistic responses by invited Greater Cincinnati artists (poets, visual artists, performers), each artist responding with their own poem, visual art, or performance to one of the eleven chapters of the book: Race and the City: Work, Community, and Protest in Cincinnati, 1820-1970, edited by Henry Louis Taylor, Jr., and published in 1993. The book represents a history of Black Cincinnati from 1820 to 1970 and compiles academic studies by twelve authors who address various aspects of Black life during that period, highlighting the racial situation prevailing at that time in employment, real estate, ghettos, segregation, leadership, etc. 14 local poets, 40 local visual artists, and 2 local performing groups, took part in the project, adding their own artistic response to the original book, also their reflection about the current racial situation in Cincinnati
The launching of the book, featuring artwork by OHHS Drawing and Printmaking students, will take place on April 27th, from 5:30-8:30 pm, at the Walnut Hills Public Library.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
This is a prestigious competition. The winning artwork will represent the 8th District in Washington, D.C., by being displayed in the U.S. Capitol as part of a year-long exhibit. The winning artist may receive free round-trip airfares for the national winners’ reception in Washington, D.C., and be eligible for a scholarship from prestigious art and design college. Other winners’ pieces will be showcased at my Washington, DC, and district offices for the next year.
This year, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum hosted the exhibition of works submitted by students in schools throughout District 8. In total, there were over 200 entries from students in the congressional district!
Congratulations to the following students on their awards at this year’s competition:
Honorable Mention: All Media Brenda Schirmer
Honorable Mention: All Media Sarah Young
2nd Place: All Media Tiffany Truong
Congratulations to all of this year’s OHHS Art and Design students who submitted work for this year’s competition and exhibition. Artwork will be on display from April 19th through 23rd, with an Awards Reception taking place on April 22nd.
Anna Ackman Molly Audretch Mayson Buckley Kendall Crum Scout Estes Jada Kidd Molly Lorenz Sophia Osborne Marshall Shorten Jordan Tinsley Olivia Widener Corey Willett Lydia Wilson Andrew Wubbolding
OHHS Art and Design 