2015 Synergy Art Show

This year’s Synergeyes Art Show was a great success! The show was held in a new venue: the walls of Synergy School. Synergy’s Art Committee (parent volunteers and me) curated and hung the show. I worked with the Committee to select two to three examples from each Synergy artist ( two-dimensional pieces and 1 three-dimensional piece). We also chose work to represent as many projects as possible.

We had a great turn out! Students walked with their parents through the halls, showing off their creations and talking about their classmates’ work.  I gave two guided tours through the exhibition, stopping to talk for a few minutes about the work in each gallery. I dare say Synergy never looked as beautiful as it did that night. Many remarked how interesting it was to see the progression of art skills through the grades and the outrageous talent of our students.

Visual art is a key part of the curriculum here at Synergy. Art has been the foundation of world cultures since the beginning of civilization; it is part of who we are as humans and it’s vital to a well-balanced education. The arts provide opportunities for self-expression, skill building, critical thinking, creative problem solving, aesthetic valuing, observation, reflection, and more. Studies have shown a connection between arts instruction and higher school achievement, increased school attendance, and stronger self-esteem. I am proud to be providing these opportunities for learning to my students!

All Synergy students take art throughout the year, attending one 50-minute session each week. Middle school students have the opportunity to take additional art classes as electives twice a week. It is my goal to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to work with different materials, learn varied skills, work with the elements of art and principles of design, learn about artists, art styles, and world art, and make connections between art and the other subjects they are studying.

A big thank you to all who attended, my committee co-chairs Ana and Laura, the rest of the Art Committee, and the entire staff of Synergy School. I look forward to creating the next Synergeyes Art Show a year from now and making it even more spectacular!

For more information about visual art at Synergy School please visit the art blog, where I have documented every project completed this year.

–by Pam Heyda; photos by Russ Curtiss. (Note: a version of this post also ran on the art blog)