Congratulations to the Oak Hills High School students whose artwork was selected for the Art Possible Ohio, formerly known as VSA OHIO, Annual Accessible Expressions Ohio Traveling Exhibition.

Kevin Kurre, Grade 9, “Four Kevins”, Best in Show AEO 21
Taylor Meier, Grade 10, “Eleven Houses”, Second Place Youth Category

What is it all about….
Art Possible Ohio is a community that connects inspired artists with their passion, service providers with resources, and all citizens with creative opportunities.

Arts Possible Ohio was founded in 1986 and works together with artists of all ages who have disabilities to advocate for accessibility and inclusivity, advance careers in the creative sector, build community, and improve the academic achievement of Ohio’s students through arts integration. By bridging arts and disability, our programs and services promote inclusive spaces and accessible opportunities for Ohioans.

Accessible Expressions Ohio is one of the most diverse art exhibits on display. It is an adjudicated, statewide exhibition and tour of sixty 2D and 3D art by Ohio artists with disabilities. Artists of any age, living in Ohio, with a disability may enter in the Youth, Emerging, or Professional categories. AEO raises awareness by presenting the show in inclusive settings designed to change perceptions about disability.

These artists join a talented group of artists representing all corners of Ohio. The art will be presented at the virtual AEO opening ceremony on March 27th and exhibited at the Springfield Museum of Art, as long as COVID guidelines permit, and travel to diverse communities across Ohio during 2021. Artwork will also be exhibited at www.artpossibleohio.org and on all three of their social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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, theatre, visual art, and vocal music. For the 2021 competition, students may win $4,000 (one awarded in each discipline) or $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 student Rebecca Kaiser who was nominated by Ms. Schorsch to participate in this year’s competition. Be sure to check out Rebecca Kaiser’s portfolio of works addressing the exploration of identity and self reflection below:

“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 27 OHHS Art and Design were invited to be published in the Fall 2020 “Celebrating Art”!  Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for “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 Dignan-Cummins’ Ceramics, Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass, and Studio Art AP 3D Design classes:

Kylie Cornelius
Jamie Damico
Julia Hageman
Molly Lorenz
Maiya Taft
Sammie Gerde
Riley Ludwig
Sarah Bosse

From Groh’s Art Foundations class:

Lillian Heil
Lilly Keith
Katie Long

From Kopf’s Painting and Mixed Media classes:

Anna Caito
Sydney Dance
Susan Park

From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Painting and Mixed Media, and Studio Art AP 2D Design and Drawing classes: 

Kylee Adams
Samantha Bradley
Olivia Burnett
Bailey Drummond
Henry Groh
Gabby Hancock
Skylei James
Logan Jones
Rebecca Kaiser
Chloe Meadows
Erin Olakanmi
Sophia Osborne
Paige Smith
Jaelan Sow
Anna Thomas
Madison Williams
Sarah Young

Mark your calendars for the SOS Art Retrospective (2016-202) that will be on exhibition at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center from January 9th to February 27th, 2021!

OHHS Art and Design teacher, Jamie Schorsch, will be exhibiting in the Retrospective. Her piece, “Routine Education”, was selected for the exhibition which features 90 artists whose works address themes of peace and justice. 

Check out the information below for details regarding timed ticket entry, outdoor viewing options, events, and artist interviews!

“’Routine Education’ is a commentary on the gun violence epidemic that impacts schools in America. Following the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I researched events of gun related violence in schools in order to raise awareness to the magnitude of the problem. The numbers in my piece represent the amount of documented shootings, deaths, and injuries in American schools from the late 18th century until March, 2018.”

December 1st marks the annual observance of World AIDS Day, one of the most recognized international days and a key opportunity to raise awareness in communities across the world about the state of the pandemic, and critical next steps that must be taken to halt its spread. This year, 2020, marks the 32nd anniversary of World AIDS Day. Day Without Art (DWA) began on December 1st, 1988 as a national day of action and mourning, aligned with World AIDS Day, in response to the AIDS epidemic. Over 800 U.S. art and AIDS groups participated in the first Day Without Art by shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS. Over the years, Day Without Art has grown into a collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS service organizations, libraries, high schools, and colleges take part. 

Oak Hills High School has been a part of this tradition for over 24 years. In 1997, Day Without Art switched the approach to a Day WITH Art, in order to recognize and promote increased programming of cultural events that draw attention to the continuing pandemic. The name was retained as a reminder of the impact the disease had on the arts and entertainment communities, but parentheses were added to the program title. Day With(out) Art highlights art projects intended to inspire communities to action by creating art and awareness about AIDS.The artist’s role as a social commentator and activist has been engrained in the history of civilization and culture.

Art and its creation as a response to social and political issues can be a powerful catalyst for influencing and raising public awareness resulting in positive social change. Art has a long history of using social commentary as a weapon of change or enlightenment. German expressionist artist Kathe Kollwitz created artworks that centered on themes of poverty, unemployment and worker exploitation during WWI and WWII.  Mexican muralist Diego Rivera used his art as a tool to vocalize for the oppressed against their oppressors. In April 1937, the world learned the shocking truth about the Nazi Luftwaffe’s bombing of Guernica, Spain- a civilian target- through Pablo Picasso’s great anti-war painting, Guernica. American Pop artist Keith Haring created public works to raise awareness about issues of drug abuse, corruption in government and societies- such as the Berlin Wall in Germany and South Africa under apartheid. These artists expressed their opinions and message to the literate and illiterate alike and earned worldwide recognition.

To mark the anniversary of this event, the Art and Design Department at Oak Hills High School focuses on the positive and influential role the arts play in AIDS activism- as well as in other social, global and political issues.  Artwork will remain uncovered as a way to draw attention to the possible future roles our current art students may play in our globalized future. Typically, throughout the week, over 200 Art Foundations students work to create collaborative mural panels that focus on empowerment, and activism, through the arts inspired by the style of artist Keith Haring as a part of the observance of World AIDS Day. Due to barriers created by the current COVID-19 pandemic, students will focus on creating individual designs throughout the week, centered on Global Issues, in lieu of their collaborative creation.

View images of the students in action with their creations this year, as well as samplings of past collaborative murals, below.