Arts

Visual Arts Elementary School

In the 2021–2022 school year our elementary school artists began reorienting themselves to our shared studio spaces, taking responsibility for it and utilizing a wide range of mediums. A particular highlight was the reintroduction of ceramics and clay units across all year levels. Students thoroughly enjoyed the magic of creating all sorts of forms and manipulating the clay’s textures. This was followed with delight, as students witnessed their creations glazed and transformed through the ring in the kilns. It was also a year in which we were able to bring back greater student independence through many studio days, where learners made their own choices of art centers— whether it was drawing, printmaking, painting, textiles or combinations.

At the end of the year the senior students each completed their own piece of work to exhibit. It demonstrated their own journey through the artistic process– idea generation, research, experimentation, producing and re ning.

The space and time for thinking, creating and building skills resulted in breathtaking displays.

Arts

Visual Arts

Middle School

It’s di cult to say who was more excited to be back in the art rooms with ALL the fun stu —the teachers or the students!! The energy was tangible. Every art teacher started the year with all the messy materials just in case….but luckily, we stayed the entire year face-to-face. Apart from enjoying hands-on creating, we learned how to be with each other in safe, shared spaces again. Students discovered the power of visual communication through six MS art classes: Art Exploratory, Art Design, Mixed Media, Ceramics, Studio Art, and Photography.

Arts

Visual Arts

High School

One of the best ways to learn in an art studio is through direct observation in a shared space. It was wonderful to be in each other’s “real life” company again creating works of art. Renewing familiar studio routines of using a variety of media, discussing artworks, and displaying nished pieces was all part of the mix. Campus sketchers learned more about the history of our school through on-site drawings, photography students documented walks through a nearby neighborhood, and advanced students attended the renowned India Art Fair. Course o erings in Media Design, Sculpture, Photography, and Arts Studio provided rich opportunities to grow as artists and community members.

Arts Theater

MS Theater

This year, Middle School held their rst production since the start of the pandemic. The play Just Another Day In Tumbleweed was written by Ms. Luebbe and was designed speci cally with middle school students in mind.

Undeniably, a highlight of the middle school year, the MS production allowed children the opportunity to learn new skills, make new friends and challenge themselves in a new environment. The joy on the faces of students, teachers, and family members was a t estament to the hard work the cast and crew put in.

Students in Middle School also actively participated in multiple performances throughout the year. These included International Day, Friday Night Lights, middle school assemblies, and PSA meetings. Students worked throughout the year to make music more visible in the community.

Arts Theater

HS Theater

The High School’s Theater Program showed its splendor through two mainstage theater shows, each with a cast/crew of 25–30 students and impressive e orts of the Thespians Honor Society with 14—20 students. The mainstage theater production for the Fall was Juno Steele and The Case of The Murderous Mask by Sophie Takagi Kaner and Justin Vibert, Adapted to the stage by HS students Ananya Nadguada and Caroline Laubacher. The HS mainstage theater production for the Spring was The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by HS students Billie Pine and Esther Rubin.

A full recording of the show is available on the AES YouTube channel: HS Play — 04/30/2022.

The Thespians Honor Society created a Haunted House for Fall Fiesta which was visited by 500 guests, and an on-line Film Festival that featured 10 short lms by students.

High School Theater is also centered around curriculum, including the two-year IB Theater course, Moviemaking, Introduction to Theater, and Advanced Theater.

Coming into AES, especially online, didn’t have much of a landing point. Like a lot of kids here, I’d moved around a lot before, and had plenty of experience starting from scratch. Although everyone was really friendly, it was easy to feel like I didn’t have roots. Having Theater really helped me in that way: I had a craft to hone, skills to learn, new information to take in, and a group of creative, talented, outgoing people to support me while I did so. I’m incredibly grateful that when was missing home, or just struggling with that same new circumstances that everyone adapted to, I had a new creative activity to focus that tension and energy on. Like a lot of people, I grappled with apathy throughout the pandemic, and Theater showed me that still have the capacity to care for and work toward things that give value to me and my community.