Wahconah Students Showcase Their Art Celebrating Diversity and Culture
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Juvenile Court is showcasing student art that celebrate the diversity and culture of the county.
Last Thursday, Wahconah Regional High students got to show the public their work at an opening reception and why they chose to make what they did.
Chief Probation Officer Deanne "Dee" Calvert said the court has a budget for the annual project but that this was the first time being able to put on a community reception.
"Prior to that, we would put the paintings in the windows, and people would come up, like the students with their parents would come up after school and take a look at them, or people walking by on North Street would have a look," she said. "But this was a chance for us to do more of a community event where we can kind of see how our youth sees cultural appreciation or awareness through their paintbrushes."
They're not up yet, but the court will be installing the artwork in the exterior windows for the public to see.
Art teacher Bonnie Copogna said her students got to pick from three prompts — themes of "We Stand Together," access, and justice — through portraits and/or dot painting.
Students learned about Australian Aboriginal dot painting and the symbols embedded in it, then developed their own symbols and created original pieces. Some used an animal as a central image; others made landscapes. Students chose someone important to them and made portraits using simplified shapes, bold or contrasting colors, and sometimes a comic-book style.
The ones who chose to follow the theme had a statement with each piece of work on how it conveys their theme.
The show included 24 pieces of art from Grades 10 to 12 at the Dalton high school.
Copogna said the collaboration with the court is important as it gives students an opportunity to display their work, encourages them to think about their roots, and express their voices.
"I think it's important to kind of dig deep and really think about our roots and where we come from and what that means and our connection to each other and humanity. And it's really amazing when we get down to it, and you see all the ideas that the students have, and how much depth there is, and then we also learn about each other," she said.
"We learn about each other's backgrounds. We learn about each other's life interests, each other's cultures, our concerns, what our desires are for the future, and then they somehow pull it all together and tuck it into their artwork, whether it be a painting or a drawing. You know, these kids spend a lot of time on these pieces, and there's a lot of love and care in it."
Trevion Hawkins, 17, decided to do a portrait of his younger sister Avery, who he says he cares about very much. The portrait includes her favorite colors, which he feels symbolize her as a person.
"The yellow stands for the brightness she brings to this world, the blues are a mixture of her as a person. Purple is one of her favorite colors; she is a very energetic, bright girl who can bring anyone a laugh or a smile," he wrote on the card by her portrait.
Emily Copogna, 16, did two pieces of art, a dot painting and another that represents a theme and said she is proud to see her work being showcased.
For her dot painting, she wanted to do something with nature and decided to do a squirrel with a sunset background as she likes sunsets.
For her second piece, "Fruit Fiesta," she followed the theme on togetherness by drawing pineapples and cherries.
"It was about togetherness, and I looked it up, and I did some research. And basically, pineapples and cherries work together to help digestion in someone's body, and so I thought that was really cool," Emily said. "So I added both of them in my piece, and then also the piece I added a bunch of different spirals and stuff, which made it look kind of like almost a holiday where like people come together."
Berkshire Juvenile Court First Justice Joan McMenemy said the court feels fortunate to be able to show off the students' work and see how much symbolism is displayed in their setting.
"Sometimes Juvenile Court isn't associated with a positive, and a lot of the kids who come here, you know many of them are incredibly talented, and being able to showcase art is a great way to showcase Berkshire talent," she said.
The art will be up at the Juvenile Court on North Street through the month of November.
"I'm always impressed with their ability to come up with something very different and new," said Copogna. "Obviously, when I give them prompts or suggestions or walk them through things or guide them, I have my idea of what I think is going to happen. But then some kids will just take this totally different direction that I most certainly didn't anticipate, and I love that.
"I love that about art — how it really can become something really personal and unique that you didn't expect."
Tags: art show, juvenile court, WRHS,
