Congratulations to the following students who had one or more  entries in the Reflections Program  selected  to move on to the next level of judging with the Hamilton County Council of PTA :

Visual Arts Category
Jackie Switzer (3 entries)
Emily Stalbaum (1 entry)
Marianne Vukics (1 entry)
Taylor Helms  (1 entry)
Cameron Suter  (3 entries)

Photography Category
Kelly Cline (5 entries)

You are cordially invited to attend the 4th annual opening of the Oak Hills Student Digital Photography Show at OfficeKey located in downtown Cincinnati, Scripps Center 16th floor. OfficeKey enables companies to maintain offices that maximize their potential. They provide what’s needed, when it’s needed, in the functions of location, workspace, mail room, phone and meetings.

On Friday, December 13th, 7:00p.m-9:00p.m. approximately 50 photographs will be on display portraying various aspects of downtown Cincinnati. See what caught the eye of the students. Contrast Cincinnati’s rich architectural history as seen at the Dixie Terminal Building with Cincinnati’s newest landmark the Queen City Tower. All the work was shot from a field trip experience.

Digital matted prints are $25 and all proceeds go directly to the individual artists. Please come out and support these talented young people and this wonderful local business.

***Light refreshments will be provided***

OfficeKey-Cincinnati
Scripps Center,
312 Walnut Street,
Suite 1600
Cincinnati, OH 45202

December 1^st 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, 2013, marks the 25th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

Day Without Art (DWA) began on December 1st 1989 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 17 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 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 painter 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.  These artists expressed their opinions and message to the literate and illiterate alike, and earned worldwide recognition. 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.

To mark the anniversary of this event, the Art Department at Oak Hills High School focused on the positive and influential role the arts play in AIDS activism- as well as in other social 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.

Mr. Groh’s Photography II students would like to cordially invite you to the opening of our 11th Student Photography Show at Aroma’s Java & Gelato on Bridgetown Road. All of the photographs in this show have been created by students at Oak Hills High School.  They shot the images, developed the film, and printed each photo with their own hands.  Film photography is a challenging medium and each step is laden with opportunities to fail.  It takes a great deal of patience and more than a little skill to end up with a successful print.  These students should be very proud of what they accomplished.

If you would like to meet the artists, please join us at Aroma’s on Friday, December 6 at 7 pm for the official opening of the show.  In an effort to recoup some of their lab fee, the students are selling their prints.  If you ever wanted to own an original work of art, this is a chance to start your collection at entry level prices.  100% of the money goes directly to the artists.

There will also be live music courtesy of Keegan James, Steven Campbell, Corey Watzek, and Grace and Jade Aufderbeck! These are all current Oak Hills students.

Thanks again for your patronage and a big thanks to the staff and management of Aroma’s Java & Gelato.  We deeply appreciate their generosity in hosting this show and hope you will encourage your friends and family to support our young artists and local businesses. (Gretta, the owner, is an Oak Hills grad too!)

The show will be up for most of December!

National PTA Reflections  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 2013-2014 Reflections program theme is “Believe, Dream, Inspire.”

Best of luck to the following students who submitted work for this year’s competition and stay tuned for results!