The IB Diploma Programme is very rigorous to take on. Our BOYCP Visual Arts Seniors have taken on quite a challenge and have pushed their art to the next level! Finding a style of art that suits oneself can be difficult. In a way, the IB programme helps students find their own style of art by emphasizing practice, media experimentation, and creativity.

Throughout the past year and a half, our DP Visual Arts Seniors have created a plethora of artworks for their exhibition. They have found their style and have connected everything they have created through a singular, personalized, theme. Adding a singular theme to one’s artwork can be strenuous but it enhances critical thinking in the meaning behind the artworks.

Finding one’s style of art can be quite difficult. Esmeralda Fernandez, a senior, states, “I have personally struggled a lot to find my own artistic style… I use art to express myself and the expectation of being precise in society has made me use art as something the opposite of that.” It is easy to say that one has an artistic style, but it is more difficult to keep that style consistent while staying inside the parameters of a set theme. Every single participant of the DP Art Exhibition has worked passionately to create artworks that are both beautiful and have a meaning behind them; every piece of art has its own story.

The DP Art Exhibition is where we go to appreciate the artwork of our fellow peers to praise them for their hard work over the previous year. We are looking only at half the effort the students have put into their artwork. Leading up to the exhibit, students will have spent countless hours of planning and reflecting upon the processes taken to complete each artwork.

Our DP Visual Arts seniors are expecting a lot from this exhibition. Here are the thoughts of Shamarah Johnson, “I think that this exhibition is my chance to artistically voice my opinions on such broad issues, and how I feel about them. So, with that being said, I hope that the art exhibition does just that and that my overall message is conveyed.” To make the seniors’ experience as enjoyable as possible, we can attend the art show to give them praise for their dedication towards their work and ask them about the meaning behind their pieces.

The DP Visual Arts seniors have worked tremendously hard to create each and every single one of their artworks. To put this into perspective, a few DP art teachers from other schools have only five students to work with, and they are having a difficult time putting everything together. However, Mrs. Strentz is working with 78 students, which is about 15 times more students! Show your support to the DP Visual Arts seniors by attending the art exhibition and admiring the artwork in person on the 17th of March. Hope to see you all there!

– Eleazar Martinez