Guild Hall in East Hampton will present its annual Student Art Festival. This year’s theme is “PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE,” a look at both our shared past and an imagined future.
Through the practice of art and design, ranging from the imagery of natural growth and metamorphosis to Futurism and Science-Fiction, students across the East End will collectively produce an exhibit that reflects our past, acknowledges and celebrates our present, and imagines a changed and hopeful future.
Entering its 29th year, the Student Art Festival continues to evolve with the moment. This year the festival introduces the addition of a Remote-School Artist-in-Residence program. Over the past three months, Guild Hall has paired several artists to local public schools to develop projects to be exhibited at the festival.
The program has connected seven artists — Scott Bluedorn, Megan Chaskey, Jeremy Dennis, Ellen Frank, Cindy Pease Roe, and Almond Zigmund — with over 150 local students, Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Exploring various mediums and topics — from marine debris upsculpting, to futuristic and eco-friendly architecture, to the untold stories of ancestral indigenous people and their land, to the capability of public art and design to enliven communal spaces — artists and students met and worked together through Zoom or Google Classroom to create unique works.
The show will be on view January 16 to February 21. In lieu of the annual opening ceremony, a monthlong series of virtual family workshops, children’s after-school workshops, and teen events will occur. The festival concludes with the annual High School Awards Ceremony.
Create Your Own Comic Book
As part of the programming, Guild Hall also presents a five-week Loot Comics workshop, Create Your Own Comic Book, starting January 21 and running through February 18. This hourlong weekly virtual workshop caters to kids 8 to 12, and give them an opportunity to create their own imaginative and action-packed comic book through the lens of their own lives.
The Brooklyn-based Loot Comics is known for being very kid-centric: only allowing adults into the inner sanctum if they’re accompanied by kids. Through the process, children will delve into the world of superheroes and far-off places — reading, writing, acting, and illustrating the genesis stories of various heroes, led by the enigmatic “Professor Joe.”
All sessions are led remotely via Zoom and each child is provided with a kit of materials for the workshops.
For more info visit www.guildhall.org.