Students walk past rows of intricate artworks every day.
However they don’t realize they are a part of a 27-year-old archive of artworks known as the Permanent Collection. This assortment of artworks is a massive catalog showcasing the history and achievements of previously enrolled art students at the school.
“The collection has always been to celebrate the students,” art teacher and former student Melissa Manning said. ”We’ve had many teachers and tourists come through complimenting the artworks as it grew, since it’s something you don’t see in schools often.”
The collection began as an idea from former superintendent Margaret Davis and high school art teacher Nicole Brisco in 1997 as a way to praise the artistically gifted students at the high school.
“I had seen schools up in Houston that had a similar program and took inspiration,” Mrs. Brisco said, “Schools are very good at showcasing athletics and sports, but not necessarily the other stuff that happens.”
The various groups and clubs around the school choose a student to sponsor, typically a senior, that is enrolled in the art program. Purchased artworks are revealed to students at the Art Show at the end of every school year. Each purchased artwork is then paid for by the program and taken to the archive where it will eventually be matted, framed, and hung on the school walls.
“It’s an exemplary honor to have your artwork purchased by the school,” Mrs. Manning said. “I had my art purchased by the art club back in my senior year. I was never enrolled in AP art, but my work was impressive enough to capture Mrs. Brisco’s attention.”
The collection also serves as a reflection on the past for those who had their work purchased. The work is not only to showcase the talented artists at the school, but for the past students to remember if they ever decide to walk down the halls again.
“Each artwork is more than just a piece to me,” Mrs. Brisco said, “They are all people to me, pieces of my students left behind for me and the school to remember and look back on.”