On Friday, April 26, the Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA) held its 25th annual spring exhibition at the Community Arts Workshop. 

The exhibition featured art from sophomores, juniors, and seniors in VADA, ranging from coffee cup designs from the sophomore graphic design class to pieces from senior portfolios that students have been working on all year.

In the senior gallery, each student is allotted a section of a wall to hang their pieces, and mediums include watercolor, oil, spray paint, diorama, and pyrography. Senior VADA students have more freedom with the pieces they choose to create, so many of the pieces reflect not only the students’ commitment to art, but also their greatest artistic passions. 

One senior, Leighton Smith, has drawn comic-style illustrations of herself and friends since she was a kid, and capped off her SBHS art career displaying her latest illustrations which depict her experience with womanhood.

As well as the seniors from AP Art Studio, VADA juniors from Advanced Painting and Photography also presented their pieces. Although many of the pieces were created based on assignments, students were also able to submit independent pieces. Notable pieces included juniors’ collages, sophomores’ urban sketching projects, and both grades’ photography. 

For some VADA students, this was their first chance to display their art in a gallery setting for their friends and family to see, and for others this was their goodbye to VADA and the portfolios they’ve been working on all year. No matter your relation to VADA, the Spring show is always a great way to show your support for the arts at our school and see some amazing pieces.

A comic-style illustration [Image Courtesy of Leighton Smith]