The growing community of artists at Uni

There are many talented artists at Uni who pursue a wide variety of artistic interests.

Many Uni students create artwork independently. Others, like juniors Hannah Davis and Bella Solis, often collaborate with friends. Uni students work with a wide range of styles and mediums, such as textiles, comics, ceramics, hand drawings, and digital drawings.

Because of the wide range of artistic interests at Uni, some artists believe the student-artist community isn’t very cohesive. Junior Bridget Rubins agrees that the artists at Uni “could be a better organized group”.

She says, “There’s Art Club, and there are a few people who go to that, but there are a lot more Uni students who are into and good at art who don’t really talk to each other or do things together.” Rubins believes that Uni artists have the potential to create an amazing community. She and Ms. Evans, who teaches art, have begun the lengthy process of forming a chapter of the National Art Honor Society at Uni.

The National Art Honor Society (NAHS) will operate much like Art Club, though it will be more structured. Members must complete a required number of service hours by working on community projects to bring art to the public. The club members will also have the opportunity to participate in art shows and competitions to showcase their skills and receive feedback. In order to form the chapter, there must be at least ten dedicated members and elected officers, so all interested artists are encouraged to join.

Junior Bella Solis is also working to create an art-focused club at Uni.

She says, “I’m working with a couple other students and our teacher sponsor [Mr. Mitchell] to start an an interdisciplinary art group focused on creating exhibitions and student- produced shows.” While she’s still planning how the group will function, its purpose is to “meld everything together and bring together a [stronger community] of Uni artists”.

There’s a lot of creative energy at Uni, and many students believe that having art in schools is important and worthwhile. Sophomore Li Reichlin thinks art is beneficial because it’s a good way to change your ideas “into something physical”. Rubins says that “art is something you can do as a community or as an individual, and one doesn’t make the other worse.”

Hopefully, the two new clubs will unite the artist community at Uni and inspire other students to pursue the visual arts. Bella Solis says, “The arts matter…don’t be discouraged from making art just cause you might be busy with school.”