The Art Showcase Club (ASC) and the Associated Student Body (ASB) worked to put together the Art Museum event to showcase the various artwork of Carlmont students on March 6 at lunch.
Ranging from photography to compositions, the museum featured all sorts of artwork. The artwork was divided into designated sections, with categories like photography, painting, and digital art.
The idea of showcasing student artwork first struck Daivik Vennela, an ASB member, during a Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) meeting. According to Vennela, he saw many people interested in the artwork at the meeting and wanted to feature some of the work at Carlmont.
“At the PTSA Reflections Arts Contest, the idea started creeping into my head. I’m not the biggest art person, but as soon as I went through all the pieces and took my time to absorb everything, I really enjoyed it,” Vennela said.
The Art Museum didn’t come without challenges. Both the ASC and ASB had to manage communication, tight deadlines, and uncertainties regarding the event, according to ASC Secretary Michelle Lo.
“There was a lot of work for us, which we had to put on our members at the last minute, so everything was rushed, and there was a lot that we couldn’t do on time,” Lo said.
According to Vennela, there was also a significant amount of pressure on the artists, as displaying their work in front of the whole school was a risk they had to be willing to take.
“Getting the artists to come in and submit their pieces was one of the challenges because there’s a huge social risk involved in putting your art piece out there,” Vennela said. “It took some time to talk to different artists, clubs, and teachers, which was one of the obstacles.”
Despite planning challenges, the museum nevertheless achieved success in allowing larger audiences to appreciate artistic talents at Carlmont. According to Lo, many Carlmont students have a passion for the arts but are not always able to showcase it to people they know. Efforts like the Art Museum allow their peers to look at what they work so hard to accomplish.
“I think the display represents my ability to share my creativity because it gives me an opportunity to express myself in a way that I can’t do verbally,” said Rachel Hong, a freshman at Carlmont who painted “Winter Streams.”
We were able to pull it off and get a lot of people down there. There were some teachers in there too, which was really cool.
— Daivik Vennela
While some students had already used other mediums to showcase their work, the museum was a way for them to display their talents to a larger audience, like sophomore Erick Cheng who is interested in photography.
“Erick is a very talented photographer, but previously, the only way he could showcase his art was through Instagram and the ASC. With the Art Museum, he was able to display his artwork for a larger community to see and appreciate,” Lo said. “We spend so much time editing stuff and helping out, and it’s great that people take time to appreciate it.”
Kylan Wang, a sophomore at Carlmont who helped prepare for the event, also noticed a greater degree of expression of the arts when they were on display for everyone to see.
“It allows a lot of students to express their cultures in places that they otherwise wouldn’t have the grounds to do,” Wang said. “It increases support for the arts and makes more students aware of the artwork that other students are putting effort into.”
As the event planners intended, visiting students appreciated the art on display.
“The museum is good because it shows everyone’s talents that you didn’t know they had, which is what I appreciated the most about it,” said Chloe Zhao, a sophomore at Carlmont.
Vennela hopes to keep the idea of the Art Museum going by continuing to recognize more artwork from the Carlmont community.
“There’s a lot of people at our school who are really talented, and I think that over the next couple of years, it should be ASB’s mission to keep that recognition going,” Vennela said.
The event planners, artists, and visitors all noticed positive outcomes from the showcase. Lo, who was also involved in editing some of the art on display, saw a greater sense of appreciation from the community, which was really impactful for her.
“When I published a piece for ASC, one of my friends messaged me, and it shook me to my core. I started shaking when I was reading it. It’s amazing when people resonate with your work,” Lo said.
