All Oak Hills High School students electing to enroll in an Art and Design Department course will develop a Competitive Advantage, Appreciation of the Arts, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Interdisciplinary Connections, Social and Global Awareness, and Career Preparation related to Visual Communication.
The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. Its mission is to encourage arts education as an integral part of a student’s academic experience and to create an environment that encourages training in, and appreciation of, the arts. The Overture Awards Competition is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theater, visual art, and vocal music. For the 2026 competition, students may win $3,000 (one awarded in each discipline) or a $1,000 finalist award. Judges at all levels of the competition are drawn from the professional arts community.
Best of luck in the Regional Competition to OHHS Art and Design students Lydia Wilson (nominated by Ms. Schorsch) and Maggie Heydon (nominated by Mrs. Dignan-Cummins) participating in this year’s competition:
On December 5th, AP Art and Design students embarked on their first field experience as a part of this year’s Contemporary Arts Center School Outreach Program. The CAC SOP offers students from grades 2 through 12 a comprehensive, immersive experience with contemporary art. Running from September through May, this year-long program includes an in-school orientation, guided tours of CAC exhibitions, a classroom project tied to the exhibition led by a local artist, and a spring visit to an artist’s studio. Program docents work with the same class throughout the year, fostering continuity and rapport with the students.
During the tour, students engaged with the Sheida Soleimani’s “What a Revolutionary Must Know” exhibition. Sheida Soleimani’s solo exhibition presents her complete “Ghostwriter” series, uniting photography, sculpture, and video to reconstruct her parents’ escape from Iran’s totalitarian regime through surreal, staged visual narratives that explore resistance, identity, memory, and political trauma, while also marking her first presentation of video work in a museum. An Iranian-American artist raised in Cincinnati, Soleimani examines interconnected histories of political violence across Iran, the United States, and the Middle East through multimedia, photo-based installations. Her work is held in major museum collections and widely covered in prominent publications. Based in Providence, she is an associate professor at Brandeis University and founder of Congress of the Birds, and she created a public artwork of 100 cast aluminum tulips honoring protesters killed after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a project that debuted at the 2023 Armory Show and continues to raise funds.
“Second Nature” showcases three digital animation works from the 21c Museum Hotels collection, featuring artists Jennifer Steinkamp and Chris Doyle, who use computer-generated imagery inspired by natural forms such as trees, vines, butterflies, and mushrooms to explore movement, pattern, and the fragile relationship between humans and the environment, with Steinkamp’s Dervish 3 depicting a tree shifting through the four seasons in a wind-like, whirling motion, and Doyle’s Circular Lament and Rondo using animated, nature-referencing shapes and bioluminescent mushrooms within symbolic, sacred-like forms to suggest ecological tension and the simulated presence of organic life through digital technology.
Students also had the unique opportunity to experience an artist talk from their teacher, Jamie Schorsch, an exhibiting artist in the “Journey to Healing” exhibition, where she shared how creating artwork has been a powerful tool in processing trauma and shaping her identity in adulthood. Through her personal story and visual work, students gained insight into how art can serve as a path to healing, self-expression, and resilience.
The National PTA Reflections competition was developed as a way to encourage students to explore their talents and express themselves. The Reflections Program has inspired millions of students to reflect on a specific theme and create original artwork. Each year, students in grades Pre-K through 12 are recognized for bringing the theme to life through film production, dance choreography, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. The 2025-2026 Reflections program theme is “I Belong”.
Best of luck to the following students from OHHS who submitted work for this year’s competition. Stay tuned for results!
Photography Entries Alejandra Lui Charlotte Nuss Asriel Sanchez
Alejandra LuiCharlotte NussAsriel Sanchez
Visual Arts Entries Hope Casey Valeria Barrios Espinoza Liliana Pisegna
The 2025 Thomas More University Juried High School Exhibition participants have been announced! Congratulations to the following OHHS Art and Design students whose work was selected for the exhibition:
Instructor: Jamie Schorsch
Maria Arrivillaga Munoz Josie Auciello Miles Frisch Alejandra Lui Baylee Moorman Sophia Wehman Lydia Wilson
Maria Arivillaga MunozJosie AucielloMiles FrischAlejandra LuiBaylee MoormanSophia WehmanLydia Wilson
Works will be on display in the Eva G. Farris Gallery from November 10th-December 4th, 2025. The Opening Reception will take place on November 10th from 4-7 pm with a Scholarship Awards Presentation at 6 pm. The Eva G. Farris Art Gallery is located on the entrance level of the Benedictine Library.
The Taft Museum of Art’s Artists Reaching Classrooms (ARC) program immerses high school art students in Cincinnati’s visual arts community, connecting them with artistic practices, exhibitions, marketing strategies, and careers in the arts. This semester, Drawing and Printmaking students are participating in the program, which includes one museum visit, four classroom visits, and culminates in a winter exhibition at the Taft.
As part of ARC, students are collaborating with Adoria L. Maxberry, a Cincinnati-based visual and performance artist, educator, designer, and founder of Most OutGROWing LLC. Guided by a belief in the power of creativity for personal and collective growth, Adoria creates immersive experiences that blend education, reflection, and community. Her work spans murals, fiber arts, illustration, and mixed media, often embedding hidden phrases and personal stories. She has led significant public projects, including Revolutionary Recipes: The Flavors of a Black Woman Amplified, and partners with organizations like ArtWorks. Adoria also teaches in schools, performs as a lead puppeteer and voice actress on the Emmy-winning children’s series Paige’s Place, and was recognized as a Black is Excellence: Unsung Hometown Hero by the City of Cincinnati in 2022. Through ARC, she will guide students in creating a large-scale collaborative artwork for the Taft exhibition.
After spending their first visit getting to know Adoria and brainstorming about the things they experience in their daily environments, or what they find impactful about objects they interact with on a daily basis, they created a collaborative design synthesizing their different perspectives. During this week’s visit with Adoria, they began laying out their design and blocking in color. Over the next few weeks, the Drawing and Printmaking students will continue their collaboration in preparation for the winter exhibition of their work at the Taft Museum of Art.
OHHS Art and Design 