Alongside the incredible concert performances by the music department, MLWGS visual art students had an opportunity to showcase their artwork in an exhibition on the second floor! This exhibition remained available for the entire month of March to celebrate Youth Art and Music Month.

The opening night of the exhibition was March 3, where MLWGS art students were given a chance to select the pieces they wanted to share with their fellow students and families and display what they created in their visual art classes. Students were also given the opportunity to help organize the art show, learn how to put up the different art pieces, and ensure that the placement was suitable for the artwork. This gave the students more insight into the preparation that goes into a special night like the YAMM event. This annual event helps raise awareness for our students and the hard work they have put into their artwork, and additionally displays Maggie Walker’s strong visual arts and music programs.

Coach Jeff Hall, the visual and performing arts department chair, began the evening with a presentation that explained the purpose of the event and introduced the schedule for the evening. Hall has been the department chair for 16 years since he started working at Maggie Walker, and says he enjoys his responsibility and feels like his job is truly a service role. Hall believes the purpose of this event is to shine the spotlight on students and what they have been creating and practicing in their art classes.

Senior Devyn Powers gave her senior artist talk during the YAMM event. The talk is an opportunity for every senior in visual arts to display about twenty pieces of their art and share their work and its meaning. “Since I got to talk for a good twenty minutes, it was just like that twenty minutes of fame, all the four years of art accumulated,” stated Powers. Powers enjoys how she is able to express herself through her artwork and use it as a therapeutic escape. Having her artist talk during the exhibition made her feel like she was able to connect more with parents and allow them to get a better understanding of art at MLWGS. Powers also gave insight into her view of the YAMM showcase as an art student. “This exhibition really means a lot to me because I feel like art and music are not prevalent in this school. I don’t think many students outside of art truly understand the amount of work that art students do in general,” she said. She believes this exhibition shows our school’s strong side of artists and allows them to show off their work.

Overall, this showcase is a celebration of the whole visual and performing arts department. Hall stated, “I think we are often in our own little silos here at Maggie Walker, so we don’t often get to see the breadth of the work, which is valuable.” Our students got the chance to bring their friends and family to see this beautiful exhibition and hear the incredible musical performances.