BRICK – The annual District Arts Festival kicked off at Brick Township Public Schools recently, highlighting students’ creative talents.
In its fifth year, the district-wide festival honors visual and performing arts programs from pre-school all the way to 12th grade. It celebrates creativity, talent, and the passion of the staff and students.
“The Brick Schools’ District Arts Festival is a feast for the eyes and ears! It features a diverse array of mediums including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and mixed media creations. Students’ talents are showcased through stunning school exhibits that reflect their creativity, skill, and unique perspectives. Teachers have created stunning displays to take families on a visual journal through the imaginative worlds crafted by our student artists,” said Jennifer Lane, Supervisor of Science 6-12, STEM Coordinator and Visual Arts.
In addition to the captivating visual art displays, the festival also featured spectacular performances from the district’s band, choral, and drama programs the entire evening. These award-winning programs showcases students’ musical talents and dedication to their craft. The drama program brings stories to life with captivating performances that showcase students’ acting abilities and stage presence.
Isabella Headley pictured with her Cerberus mask. (Photo by Alyssa Riccardi)
This year, the festival commenced with the “Caravan of Creatures” Mask Parade led by Brick Memorial High School Art Students. It showcased over 30 unique masks created by students under the guidance of art teacher Judith Harzer.
“The idea came about from a workshop I attended last fall. The idea of making masks using recycled cardboard and then participating in a parade to kick off the District Arts Festival, seemed like the ideal way to foster collaboration and to build community,” Harzer said.
During the school year, students from Mural Making, Graphic Design, and Art Club worked with recycled materials to construct their designs. The result: giant, colorful masks each representing different characters. The masks also reflected the students’ creativity and dedication.
“The concept of a parade as a way of uniting the community and encouraging collaboration while celebrating something of importance, seemed the ideal way to commence our 5th District Visual and Performing Arts Festival,” Harzer said.
Rhiannon Harsley pictured with her pie mask. (Photo by Alyssa Riccardi)
Student Isabella Headley crafted a mask of Cerberus, a mythical three-headed dog known in Greek mythology to guard the gates to the underworld. Headley said she started this mask in January and took a few weeks to finish.
“My friend helped me with the details. I was stressing because this mask I did last minute since I did another mask before this one. But this mask is my favorite,” Headley said. “I wanted to do something big and cool. My friend created the angel mask, so I thought of the idea of doing one from the underworld or hell.”
Another student, Rhiannon Harsley, fashioned a total of seven masks in the parade. Of the seven, she showed off her favorite creation, which was designed to look like a blueberry pie.
Photo by Alyssa Riccardi
“This one took so long because of the beads. I had to put them in bags of paint and shake them around since they were taking too long to paint individually,” Harsley explained.
The night was filled with creativity, talent, and community spirit. The free event welcomed hundreds of families, friends, and residents who all came to support the arts in Brick schools.
“Our hope is that bringing together the entire community to revel in the beauty of the arts and applaud the achievements of its students to remember that.” Lane said.
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