Marking the end of the school year, the Arts Awards Ceremony is an annual tradition that celebrates Poly Prep seniors who excel in visual arts, such as ceramics, drawing, and painting. The arts awards are announced during the Arts Showcase, an evening gathering to which friends and family in the Poly community attend to celebrate visual artists and the year’s works. Student artwork featured in the show is displayed in the Poly Arts Center (PAC), where families gather from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm to view the works and enjoy food catered by Poly’s kitchen staff.
During the Arts Show, the winners of the awards are announced in three categories: drawing and painting together, ceramics, and photography. Each award is given to one or two seniors who have shown tremendous skill and dedication in each category. For each award, the teacher who specializes in each type of art gives a speech congratulating the winner. In addition to winning the award, students are also given a gift selected by their teacher to acknowledge their commitment to the arts.
This year, visual art teacher Daniel Herwitt presented the drawing and painting award to Ashi Malhotra and Selena Wu. Yonghwi Kim, a ceramics teacher, presented the award to Jane Littleton. In his speech, he commended Jane’s “technical skills,” her “artistic vision,” and outstanding performance as a student who exceeded expectations with her work. Finally, visual arts teacher Adina Scherer presented the award for photography to Jordan James. This award is relatively new to Poly, marking it the sixth photography award this year, Scherer mentioned in her speech. She also emphasized how Jordan “excels with ease and passion” and how he is extremely dedicated to his work. She also commented on Jordan’s ability to always try to achieve excellence, his ability to commit to the arts, and his innate talents in picking up new techniques to work with.
There is a particular process for choosing the winners of these awards. Laura Coppola, chair of the visual arts department, notes that the awards are typically given to students who “have taken advanced coursework in the visual arts,” and “have demonstrated excellence in their particular artistic medium.” The students must also be “committed in terms of time,” and “continuing their coursework as long and as deeply as they can.” Overall, the arts show is a special opportunity for the Poly community to come together to celebrate the artistic talents of its students.
