A&E
Olympics of the Visual Arts
By Shannon O’Brien ’15
May 7, 2015
Talented art students and the creative-minded are now getting a chance to shine in the Clinton middle and high schools with the help of Hamilton students. While school-sponsored competitions have long catered toward math- and science-oriented students through science fairs and math contests, New York State’s Olympics of the Visual Arts (OVA) program allows students interested in various studio arts to develop skills through year-long creativity “problems.”
The students work individually and in groups to find solutions to prompts and then present their projects at an end of the year celebration of innovation and creativity where awards are also distributed for exceptional work. Run by the New York State Art Teachers Association, OVA has over one thousand participants throughout the state. Hamilton students have become involved with the program through the leadership of Sirianna Santacrose ’15, who recruited fifteen Hamilton volunteers of all class years to spend afternoons tutoring and mentoring Clinton middle school students. These mentors helped students in the categories of photography, illustration, drawing, fashion design, painting and sculpture.
Mentors for the 2014-2015 school year are Kianee De Jesus ’17, Cale Wagner ’18, Max Freedman ’17, Ellison Sherrill ’17, Nina Hernandez ’18, Saige Devlin ’18, Rachael Kane ’16, Claudia Price ’18, Cian Barron ’16, Hannah Mooney ’17, Victoria Negron ’17, Lily Johnston ’16, Charlotte Simons ’16, Sarah Scalet ’15 and Kaily Williams ’15.
The 2015 OVA end of the year celebration and competition was held in Saratoga Springs last Thursday, April 30. Hamilton students Maraina Adams ’17, Negron, Michy Woodward ’17, Barron and Santacrose attended the event alongside Manager of Educational Programming and Outreach at the Wellin Museum Meg Austin, Andrew W. Mellon Educator for School and Community Programs at the Wellin Museum Amber Spadea and Alison Ritacco ’14.
That morning, the Hamilton crew met employees of Skidmore College’s Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, who gave them a tour of the museum and a behind-the-scenes view of the collection and storage spaces. The Tang Teaching Museum employees shared strategies for about how to engage college students with an on-campus museum. “This gave us some excellent inspiration and new ideas for how to improve the Wellin Museum’s relationship with its own students and faculty,” said Santacrose.
The students then had lunch with some of the Tang Teaching Museum’s student docents and spent the afternoon cheering for Clinton middle school students as they presented their projects at the Saratoga Springs City Center. “They won several awards for their artwork,” Santacrose said. “We were so happy to be able to share in their excitement at the event!”
The OVA Mentor Program will continue next year, led by Simons, and Santacrose could not be happier with its success. “It was incredibly rewarding to see this program transform from an idea into a reality,” Santacrose explained. “Being able to cheer on Clinton art students at the OVA Competition in April was the pinnacle of my time with this program and was a great way for mentors to see the results of their collaboration with the students.”