By Torch Guest Writer Annie Olsen and Torch Web Editor Maggie Szarwark
AT’s Art Club was proud to present its first Fall Art Cafe. The Fall Art Cafe was a gallery event where students were able to showcase their fall themed pieces and artwork.
The whole event was mostly planned by Stephanie Ortiz with the help of Art Club’s president Cindy Nakhammouane, as well as support from the club’s sponsor Timothy Hockensmith.
The event took place on Nov. 30 and showcased 29 different art pieces, while viewers were able to enjoy cookies, tea, and coffee. Ortiz, who was behind the idea for the cafe, shared her experience with the showcase and what motivated her to plan it.
All students were welcome to submit their work to Hockensmith before the deadline of Nov. 29. Although the theme was kept around fall, students had no restrictions as to the medium used to create their art.
“I came up with the idea around October. I’m in Jazz Band and I remember last year that the Jazz Cafe was very fun and I remember thinking it would be awesome if we did like an art version with the art and then like a little gallery,” said Ortiz.
When the idea found positive feedback from other Art Club members and Hockensmith, Ortiz along with Nakhammouane started planning for the art show.
“We were kind of just planning what we would need and about two weeks before the cafe is when we started doing everything. We all split up the work,” explained Ortiz.
With the main focus being on getting more submissions, there wasn’t a lot of advertising for the event, which she admitted was something they would like to work on for the next event. This did not stop the cafe from being a success, with both students and parents coming to view the art.
“It went way better than I expected. I was anxious and I prepared myself for worse, but a lot of people actually came. I was very surprised because a lot of students came and I thought only parents would come.
“I think everyone enjoyed it even though it was short and it will definitely help us figure out what went good and what went bad this time to make next time even better,” she added.
AT junior Alex Rosone was among the students who decided to view the gallery.
“I really liked all the pieces showcased, especially Stephanie’s sculpture. The cookies and coffee also added to the experience,” he shared.
While more and more people were coming in throughout the entire hour, Ortiz had a chance to talk to many of the viewers and a lot of them expressed positive feelings about it. The feedback received from viewers also helped find out what people would like to see in future exhibitions and what they especially enjoyed about this one.
“Our main feedback was that people wish we had more pieces and a bigger show. I definitely think that comes with advertising and I think this time we kind of faulted a little bit with advertising that the show was happening,” said Ortiz.
The success of the cafe sparked even more motivation to plan another one in the near future. Art Club, which meets every Thursday after school, is already thinking of themes for the next one.
