ARTS
T
he answer came in a multitude of mediums—drawings, paintings, photos, collages, dioramas, sculptures, videos, and more. The venue was the inaugural Brooklyn Friends School Community Art Exhibition, in which artists from throughout the BFS community created and selected works which responded to the question. The exhibit, which was displayed throughout the Upper School building on Lawrence Street, included artwork from students as young as kindergarten through colleagues and professional artists, and was curated and conceived by BFS’ Artist in Residence, Chris Cooper. “The community is always inspiring me,” Chris said. “There’s so much inspiration all around us to pull from.” Having the art exhibit was the perfect way to highlight our strong and vibrant community. “I think art is incredibly powerful,” said BFS Head of Upper School Kamaya Prince Thompson. “What better way to begin the new school year than to have our own artists … and all of that artwork together up on our walls.”
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One of the young artists who had his work hanging on one of the walls of the Upper School was John, a third grader who contributed a colorful, abstract painting to the exhibit.
I think of people, connection, and the sharing of ideas,” Isabel said. “When I saw the string I immediately thought of people connecting and I thought of the beads as ideas and people sharing them.”
The community is always inspiring me. There’s so much inspiration all around us to pull from.
In the end, the man who provided so much of his own art to an exhibit he was so passionate about, was thrilled with the experience.
“I was feeling a little de-energized, and for me doing abstract art really helps,” John said about the day he painted his submitted work. “I just splattered paint everywhere and I think that’s a really good way to get you energized for the day.” Another student who contributed to the exhibit was Isabel, a ninth grader who is in her first year at BFS. Her piece of art was a diorama, which stood upon a white pedestal. The box was filled with doll pins standing like people, which had strings spanning from pin to pin, and beads on the string. There was also a flashlight allowing viewers to cast a shadow of the doll pins against the back of the diorama. “The doll pins looked like people to me and for me when I think of community,
“I love being able to hear everybody’s feedback and hear what they’re saying to each other,” said Chris Cooper, whose own contributions to the exhibit includes a giant wall of stickies in which guests were encouraged to write what community means to them and largerthan-life art pieces in all of the stairwells. “Just to bring a little fun to a space that you spend so much of your time in.”
FOR MORE ON OUR INAUGURAL ART EXHIBIT
The Art Exhibit has been brought to life in a 10-minute video feature, which can be viewed on brooklynfriends.org.
