Hundreds of artistic pieces lined the auditorium on the second floor of Abbot Hall on Tuesday evening as the next generation of artists showed off their work as part of the opening reception of the Marblehead High School Annual Spring Art Exhibition.
From woodworks and oil paintings to graphic design and photographs, students in grades eight through 12 will have their work on display until Wednesday, May 22. The annual event is the result of teachers at the high school and students working on senior projects coming together to help plan the exhibition.
Shirley Huller White, a studio art teacher at the high school, said that seeing the end result of all of the students’ work come to fruition in the form of the exhibition was gratifying.
“As teachers, we take a lot of time to nurture our students and guide them,” Huller White said. “So our reward is what you see here.”
The exhibition originally began as a senior-only project. However, the event began to include grades eight through 11 after the pandemic in an effort to be more inclusive and display a wider variety of work from different ages, something that MHS graphic design and photography teacher Leah Bordieri is proud of.
“As a teacher, it makes me extremely proud to see all of the work up and displayed and the amazing representation of all different mediums of work,” Bordieri said. “It’s so special.”
This is the first year that the exhibition has taken place inside of Abbot Hall. With Abbot Public Library, the event’s original venue, undergoing renovations, the exhibition’s organizers had to find a new home.
The architecture of the historic auditorium mixed with the evening sunlight piercing in through the windows adds to the aesthetic of the exhibition.
MHS senior Christiaan Francoeur, one of the students who helped organize the exhibition, said it has been a “challenging” experience, but one that he has enjoyed every step of the way.
“I’m so thankful for our teachers because they definitely guided us in a way that was so beneficial,” Francoeur said. “I think it was such a great opportunity for us to have this experience planning the art show because it’s going to help us with communicating and planning on our own.”
Huller White added that “this exhibit wouldn’t exist here without them,” referring to the time, energy, and hard work put in by MHS seniors.
In the future, the exhibition’s organizers hope to begin including seventh graders in the art show as well.
The artwork will be on display during normal business hours at Abbot Hall until the exhibition is taken down next week.
