Hundreds of student creations on tiny four-inch by five-inch squares decorated the OH hallways during the 21st annual Chicagoland 4×5 Art Exhibition at Oswego High School on Nov. 8 from 5-6 p.m.
Anyone from junior high to high school was able to submit their artwork to the 4×5 show and have their portfolios and submissions viewed by colleges. The winner received a small, transparent, squared award with ‘Chicagoland 4×5’ engraved on it. Honorable mentions won a sketchbook that BLICK donated for the exhibit.
The 4×5 exhibition originally started at Fremd High School during the 1999-2000 school year, pushing students to work with smaller proportions (four by five inches). Since “more work could be shown, more schools could participate, and more ideas could be born,” according to the official Chicagoland 4×5 website.
A variety of Chicagoland schools participated in the exhibition, including Romeoville High School, Schaumburg High School, South Elgin High School, Saint Charles North High School, and many more.
One of the many schools that participated was Hope Well School. Michael Skura, the OH department chair of fine arts, was “really glad that Hope Well, a school for special needs, was able to participate this year.”
Some of the colleges that attended the exhibition were Columbia College Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Western Michigan University. Attendees spent a majority of the night looking at the art displayed. Enjoying the artwork was one of the most memorable parts of the night for Skura. “My favorite part is seeing all the students taking pictures with their art and all the smiling parents coming to see their kid’s art,” he said.
Ethan Ivanov, an OH student who attended, thought it was “pretty cool that anybody can join and middle schoolers can join in too. I [also] enjoyed the appetizers, I liked how it was cater[ed].”
This year’s catering was done by the OH Restaurant Management class. They served delicious appetizers like pizza, blondies, hello dollies, pinwheels, and snickerdoodles.
At 7:30 p.m., the award ceremony was held in the OH’s auditorium, named the Barnes Performing Arts Center. The new Superintendent of District 308, Dr. Andalib Khelghati, gave a speech about how grateful he is for the people who influenced him in his art journey.
This created a great transition into the awards announcement, which had winners and honorable mentions in each category. The categories were 3D Traditional, 2D Media Arts, 2D Traditional, Sculpture, Relief, Analog Photography, Digital Photography, Computer Generated Imagery, Printmaking, Mixed Media, Painting, and Drawing.
According to Skura, this year’s art was “strong, if not just as strong as last year. Every year, it gets better and better.”
Hola I'm Bri and this is my first year on 42/Fifty. I'm a Senior and Vice president of NAHS.
Amazing how people were able to show their talent and share their work, Love this article. Amazing work Brianna!