Art show on view through October 23, 2021 in the Welles Gallery, Lenox Library.
Students from Lenox, grades 6-12, responded to the theme of belonging and visibility:
“What does it mean for you to be seen, heard, and valued? To value someone else?”
THE PROJECT: A Juried Scholarship Award for Artistic Achievement has been awarded to Lenox Senior Chloe Inhelder. The jury panel conferred Honorable Mentions with a cash award to seniors Camryn O’Dell and Sabrina Lewis • Each participating grade level has chosen a local DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) or community organization to donate to.* • Our project is generously supported by Gold Sponsor Lee Bank and Silver Sponsors Adams Bank and The Lenox Cultural District, and is a partnership of The Lenox Chamber of Commerce, Lenox Memorial Middle & High School, The Wit Gallery and The Lenox Library. We wish to thank Karen Romeo-Léger, Art Educator, LMMHS, and Alexa Bermudez, Visual Art Teacher, LMMHS, for their sensitive stewardship of the process, and finally, the wonderful students, who brought their creativity and honesty to this project. *See list below
Winner of the Senior Scholarship Award for Artistic Achievement,
Chloe Inhelder
“Man’s World” by Chloe Inhelder
Read the Berkshire Eagle interview with Inhelder and Clarence Fanto. Photo by Clarence Fanto.
LMMHS Student Choice Community Donations ($100 each):
Grade 6: CATA – Community Access to the Arts
Grade 8: Make a Wish-Massachusetts
Grade 9: Elizabeth Freeman Center
Grade 10: Berkshire Immigrant Center
Grade 11: Multicultural Bridge
Grade 12: CATA – Community Access to the Arts
Jurors for Artistic Excellence Scholarship
Sharron Frazier-McClain, Community Engagement/EDI Coordinator, Barrington Stage Company. Creator of Black Voices Matter Initiative (12 month initiative that created a platform solely for BIPOC artists to highlight their work), Barrington Stage Co. Producer of Celebration of Black Voices (A weeklong festival that creates performing opportunities for local BIPOC artists that also used art as a community building tool). Art is not only a form of self expression but also a phenomenal teaching tool.
Deirdre McKenna, Creatives Services Manager, Lenox Chamber of Commerce, creates graphic branding for events & visitor experiences. Writer & performer with the Powder Keg Writing Group for Women. Her poem “Blood and Gold” was published by Green Fire Press in “Writing Fire: An anthology celebrating the Power of Women’s Words.” She holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston/Lesley College, where she studied art history, printmaking, painting, sculpture & drawing. She believes that personal expression through the arts has the power to challenge what silences us and creates opportunities to re-imagine ourselves.
Lynda Strauch, Founder and Owner of the Wit Gallery. The Wit Gallery’s intent is representing artists with strong beliefs and core strength. The gallery’s yearly program, “Art of Giving,” is a collaboration of the gallery, collectors and artists working together toward a common goal in bringing hope, and help to those in need. Hope is a recurring theme with many of the gallery’s rotating programs. The staff at the gallery is inspired by the journeys that our artists took to get to where they are now. In participating in the Belonging show with our local students, it is with continued hope to encourage the next generation of artists to not be afraid to use their artistic language, or voice, to create works around issues that are important to them.
