OHHS Artists Take the Long View: A Wayfarers Artist Talk

As part of the 2026 FotoFocus Biennial, the opening of Wayfarers at the Delhi Event Center featured an engaging artist talk highlighting the creative journeys, perspectives, and experiences of three members of the OHHS Art and Design community: Jamie Schorsch, Steve Groh, and Hannah Knight. The artist talk offered an opportunity for attendees to hear directly from Schorsch, Chair of the OHHS Art and Design Department and Ohio Art Teacher of the Year, photography teacher and artist Steve Groh, and OHHS Art and Design alumna Hannah Knight (2018). Together, they shared their perspectives on art and photography, the ways photography influences how we see and understand the world, and the personal journeys that shape us as artists and individuals.

The conversation was especially meaningful within the context of Wayfarers, an exhibition co-curated by Groh and Knight that brings together photography from OHHS Art and Design alumni alongside work by their former teacher. The exhibition explores the idea of the “wayfarer”, someone who travels along a path or embarks on a wandering journey, as a metaphor for the artistic and personal paths we take throughout our lives.

The artist talk also connected naturally to this year’s FotoFocus Biennial theme, The Long View. The theme encourages viewers to consider photography through the lenses of time, distance, perspective, and reflection. In that spirit, the speakers reflected on where their own creative journeys began, how those experiences have shaped their work, and where those journeys have led them.

For the OHHS Art and Design Department, the event was a powerful example of how the impact of art education can extend well beyond the classroom. The conversation brought together a former teacher, a department leader, and an alumna to share their experiences and demonstrate how creative journeys continue to evolve over time.

Wayfarers: An OHHS Art and Design FotoFocus Exhibition Opened this Weekend!

As a part of this year’s FotoFocus Biennial, OHHS Art and Design Photography alumni will be exhibiting alongside their former teacher, Steve Groh, in the Wayfarers exhibition at Delhi Event Center. The exhibition theme and title, wayfarer, defines a person who travels, especially on foot. The term is often used in a literary or poetic sense to describe someone who goes on long, wandering journeys, embracing the freedom and unpredictability of life on the road.

Each Biennial, FotoFocus is structured around a unifying theme. The 2026 Biennial theme, The Long View, considers aspects of time and perspective in photography and film, and how these mediums shape our understanding of the world. “The long view” is a phrase used to invoke a broader perspective. It suggests both distance and duration, i.e., looking far into the distance and/or looking for a long period of time. The Long View acknowledges the semiquincentennial of the United States, encouraging a posture of reflection in regards to the grand sweep of our country’s history, its past, present, and future. Photography can show us many moments from that history but it can also serve as a metaphor for how we understand our past and decide to shape it over time.

Groh co-curated the exhibition with alumnus Hannah Knight (2018). The exhibition features a photograph that represents an earlier point in photographic journeys, and another that represents where individuals are now, along with a pair of shoes that somehow represents the journey through life. This weekend’s exhibition opening will include a brief educational component in the form of artist talks. Jamie Schorsch, OHHS Art and Design Department Chair, photography teacher Steve Groh, and Hannah Knight all shared their perspectives on art, the impact of photography on the world, and the journeys we take throughout our life.

OHHS Alumni from across the United States entered works for the exhibition, many of whom traveled back home to Cincinnati and the packed house opening on Sunday! The special exhibition is a testament not only to the great memories, wonderful new life experiences, and celebrations of connections amongst teachers and students, but also to the impact of Steve Groh ‘s journey as an educator and the lives he has influenced throughout his 31 years in the classroom.

Wayfarers will be on exhibition through November 6th, 2026 at the Delhi Event Center.

Wayfarers: An OHHS Art and Design Fotofocus Exhibition in Partnership with the Delhi Event Center!

Each Biennial, FotoFocus is structured around a unifying theme. The 2026 Biennial theme, The Long View, considers aspects of time and perspective in photography and film, and how these mediums shape our understanding of the world. “The long view” is a phrase used to invoke a broader perspective. It suggests both distance and duration, i.e., looking far into the distance and/or looking for a long period of time. The Long View acknowledges the semiquincentennial of the United States, encouraging a posture of reflection in regards to the grand sweep of our country’s history, its past, present, and future. Photography can show us many moments from that history but it can also serve as a metaphor for how we understand our past and decide to shape it over time.

As a part of this year’s FotoFocus Biennial, OHHS Art and Design Photography alumni will be exhibiting alongside their former teacher, Steve Groh, in the Wayfarers exhibition at Delhi Event Center. The exhibition theme and title, wayfarer, defines a person who travels, especially on foot. The term is often used in a literary or poetic sense to describe someone who goes on long, wandering journeys, embracing the freedom and unpredictability of life on the road.

Groh will be co-curating the exhibition with alumnus Hannah Knight (2018). The exhibition will feature a photograph that represents an earlier point in photographic journeys, and another that represents where individuals are now, along with a pair of shoes that somehow represents the journey through life. As an official part of the FotoFocus Biennial, the exhibition opening will include a brief educational component in the form of artist talks. Jamie Schorsch, OHHS Art and Design Department Chair, photography teacher Steve Groh, and definitely be speaking, and Hannah Knight will be featured speakers with additional alumni contributing to discussion throughout the event.

Mark your calendars now for the exhibition opening at the Delhi Event Center:

Wayfarers Opening Reception
Sunday, October 4
1:00–3:00 p.m.

Summer 2025 “Celebrating Art” OHHS Art and Design Students to Be Published

“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 31 OHHS Art and Design students were invited to be published in the Summer 2025 “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 Dignan-Cummins’ Ceramics 1, Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass, Honors Fiber Arts, Sculpture, and AP Art 3D Design classes:

Skyla Blevins
Mahala Burnett
Nola Cain
Kasandra Campos Sanchez
Evelyn Dann
Jayla Gazaway
Grace Gray
Austin Haarmeyer
Belle Kirby
Darlyn Levia Herandez
Jack Ludwig
Samantha McDonald
Leo Ruthven
Addison Wuebbling
Zoe Wuerdeman

From Kopf’s Art Foundations, Digital Art Foundations, and Painting and Public Art classes:

Claire Boles
Cynthia Brown
Adriana Garcia
Aubree Harden
Megan Mackay
Ahleya Velasco

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

Molly Audretch
Bethany Bachman
Colin Klaserner
Kendalyn Kress
Cody Leopold

Lily McGuire
Annie Riley
Lizzie Schreibeis
Sophia Wehman
Lydia Wilson

OHHS Art and Design Students Selected for the 2025 Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition

This past weekend, the state level of judging for The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, took place. The Exhibition, now in its 55th year, is dedicated to the educational and artistic advancement of our talented young people in the state of Ohio. The exhibition is open to all of Ohio’s 1,112 high schools, both public and private, chartered by the State of Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. A program of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, in partnership with the Ohio Governor’s Office, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, and the Ohio Arts Council, sponsors are also secured to offer scholarships for students to continue a post-secondary arts education. T

The process of selecting artworks for the state exhibition begins on a regional level. The state is divided into 15 regional locations, with high school students in each region invited to enter work in that regional judging. Each region has a designated Regional Director, who is responsible for choosing the judges for his or her region and arranging specifics of the event.

The state judging takes place in Columbus; however, the judges for this level of competition are chosen from all over the country and are generally professional artists, college level instructors, or both.

State jurors selected 284 pieces for the exhibition with 25 of the 284 chosen to receive the Governor’s Award of Excellence. An additional 35 works are selected for the Cameo Exhibition displayed at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

Congratulations to the following student whose work was accepted into the state level exhibition:

Molly Audretch, “Inverted Virtues”

Congratulations to the following students whose work was accepted into the Cameo Exhibition at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce:

Congratulations to the following student whose work was selected as one of the Top 25:

Lizzie Schreibeis, “Killing in the Name Of”

The exhibition will be on display at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, 30 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 from April 20th – May15th. An awards ceremony will take place in The Riffe Center Capitol Theatre, 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215 on May 4th at 12:00 pm.