Students at Westside SS host art showcase
June 13, 2023
Orangeville, ON — The halls of Westside Secondary School were filled with artwork and sculptures by students for their Large Scale Pop Art Showcase.
The showcase featured sculptures and paintings of students’ favourite foods, their favourite famous works of other artists, works with hybridization and contrasting mediums, photography, typography as well as graffiti-inspired pieces.
Westside’s arts program leader, Lachlan Mackintosh, said he and the Arts Team recognized that Westside is a large part of their Orangeville community, and wanted to give the students an opportunity to share what’s going on in their school community with the broader community.
“A few of us in our arts team used to live downtown, and the communities we lived in would always have something going on. There would be a constant flow of gallery openings, live musical performances, exhibitions, Nuit-Blanche, LuminaTO, you name it.There was always an opportunity to find something new and unique happening within the community.”
Those who participated and submitted work for the showcase were in grades 9, 10 and 11 Visual Arts, grade 11 Media Arts, musical performances from the music program, and performances from the Drama Club.
Mackintosh and the Arts team hope that students took away that the evening was a celebration of them and their work and also the impact that the arts can have on their community.
“For students to see all of the parents, friends, and members of the community come out, asking about their process, their workflow, and in some cases even asking to purchase their work, was an amazing and authentic learning experience for them,” said Mackintosh.
