This year, the Studio Art AP Drawing, 2D Design, 2D Design Photography, and 3D Design students had the amazing opportunity to participate in the Contemporary Arts Center’s School Outreach Program. The CAC School Outreach Program provides an intensive multi-layered experience with contemporary art for students in second through twelfth grade. Beginning in September and ending in May, the year-long program comprises an in-school orientation, two guided visits to CAC exhibitions, visits with a local artist, and a visit to a studio.

The program kicked off for the students in the fall, with their first visit to the CAC…for many, this was their first visit ever! Students were introduced to the iconic building, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, designed by Zaha Hadid. After learning about the history of the CAC, students toured exhibitions Zaha Hadid: A Permanent Nostalgia for Departure and Tai Shani: My Bodily Remains, Your Bodily Remains, and all the Bodily Remains that Ever Were and Ever Will Be. Students were also presented with the opportunity to hear OHHS Art and Design teacher Jamie Schorsch speak about her work on display as a part of the Wounded Healers exhibition.

Following their experience at the CAC, students visited the Wave Pool Gallery, located in Camp Washington. While there, they learned about community engagement in creating collaborative works and communicating messages of hope and resilience. As a part of the “Story Quilts” exhibition experience, students created their own squares to be added to a community quilt and we compiled their designs into a digital version as a reminder of their experience and their OHHS art community.

To kick off the last day of school before Spring Break, OHHS Art and Design teachers Bridget Dignan-Cummins and Jamie Schorsch organized a special experience for the Studio Art AP students. Artist Michael Thompson brought his expertise and passion for art to Oak Hills High School as part of the CAC’s School Outreach Program. Engaging with Studio Art AP students, Thompson shared invaluable insights into his creative process, inspirations, and the contemporary art scene. Through interactive discussions and demonstrations, students gained a deeper understanding of artistic expression and were inspired to explore their own creativity. Thompson’s visit not only enriched the students’ artistic knowledge but also fostered a sense of connection to the broader art community, leaving a lasting impact on their artistic journeys.

The final visit to the CAC offered the opportunity for students to not only view the exhibitions Jayson Musson: His History of Art and Felix Gonzalez-Torres: “Untitled” (L.A.) but also The SuperNatural at 21C Museum Hotel. The experience culminated with a visit to the Creativity Center to view the artworks they created individually, and collaboratively, based upon their experience with the program.

The School Outreach program culminates in a Student Art Exhibition showcasing the artwork of the students created in response to their experiences throughout the program. This exhibition showcasing their works will end with an event taking place on Sunday, May 19th at the Contemporary Arts Center from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. The family-friendly event – held in the museum’s interactive UnMuseum and Creativity Center – is a wonderful showcase of creativity and a testament to the hard work of our young artists.

Space and The Body
Influenced by the exhibitions Zaha Hadid: A Permanent Nostalgia for Departure and Tai Shani: My Bodily Remains, Your Bodily Remains, and all the Bodily Remains that Ever Were and Ever Will Be Milo Butts, Kalli Langdon, Finley Nguyen, and Rylee Dissinger created works in reaction to and addressing issues of the human form and spaces. Finley Nguyen’s “Cinemas,” represents the inability to separate yourself from the exaggerated online persona you put out to others to reach stardom. Finley’s intention was to portray the emotional distress of acting as a character. They distorted the artwork by integrating multiple media such as magazine clippings, photographs, canvas, and paint. Through “Talisman”, Milo Butts explored the questions of how they could reflect, as a trans person, the forced expectations, and the idea that we are only valued for what we can give, often placed upon myself and others with uteri in society. In “Ghosts of Music Hall”, Kalli Langdon explores the impact of urban legends of spaces and the traces that we leave behind in spaces through collaged digital imagery while Rylee Dissinger explores in “Scaling” the idea of surmounting your goals while also exploring the intersection of art and sports and the existence in two divergent worlds.

The Imprints We Leave Behind
Ms. Jamie Schorsch’s Studio Art AP students collaborated on the creation of a piece influenced by the idea of Zaha Hadid’s ‘Urban Carpet’ and works from A Permanent Nostalgia for Departure. The Imprints We Leave Behind combines the unique impressions each student makes, both personally and on each other, and the forming of community. Inspired by the Wave Pool Gallery exhibition focused on the visualization of community through quilt making, students stitched together the individual elements they created in a design intended to leave the wall and enter the collective space, with the threads left exposed to add an element of entanglement with the viewer.

The Memories Made
Ms. Schorsch’s Studio Art AP students collaborated on the creation of a piece influenced by artifacts influenced by the various artists exhibiting in A Permanent Nostalgia for Departure. Additionally, students drew upon the influence of their visit with artist Michael Thompson and their exploration between nostalgia, personal histories, and remembrance. Students collaged personal pieces of ephemera together to craft an image that represents key points and memories in their life and added numeric coding, inspired by the artwork Ms. Schorsch exhibited in Wounded Healers, to memorialize key dates of significant impact in their lives. The composition was organized to reference the influence of the architectural design of the Contemporary Arts Center and represent the building of your own life.

The Pursuit of Happiness
Ms. Dignan-Cummins’ Studio Art 3dAP students collaborated to create a work of art inspired by spaces and the feelings siphoned from the characteristics of that space. The Pursuit of Happiness plunges into the conceptual journey each of us has when embarking upon our future beyond high school. The work visually represents an individual being tied to the superficial aspects that seem to hold them back from their determination to reach their fullest, untethered potential. Surrounded by the swirling components of day-to-day life, the viewer is challenged to consider what they would reach for as the brightest & most meaningful version of their life.

Tea Time Treasures
Ms. Dignan-Cummins’ Studio Art 3dAP students collaborated to create a work of art inspired by spaces and the feelings siphoned from the characteristics of that space. Tea Time Treasures is inspired by the hard and soft nature of the realities represented in The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. Working with the topics of melding together, fantasy worlds, and flowing liquid, the work asks the viewer to gather at their tea party. Tea, representing harmony and peace, is the central focus of this classical fantasy world where people of all values come together to gather in peace to discuss the hope for a better world. 

Who I Am is Where I Am
Sophia Boone, Madison Coser, Ashley Haarmeyer, Chloe Roberson, Aubrey Swagler, Maddie Weldele, Brennan Werner, and Allison Wuebbling

Ms. Dignan-Cummins’ Studio Art 3dAP students joined together to create a work of art inspired by spaces and the feelings siphoned from the characteristics of that space. Who I Am is Where I Am dives into the concept that each person holds values and aspects of their lives individually important and these guide the development of their lives. Much like in a museum, important works of art are placed on pedestals, elevated to stay in the viewer’s eyesight; each student created a small visual representation of a significant aspect in their lives that has guided and shaped them into the person they are becoming as they enter the real world.