Multi-School Art Show Brings Community Together

More than 130 students from Lemont’s public and private elementary schools celebrated their love of the arts — and of their community — by participating in the village’s first “Lemont Loves the Arts” Artistic Expressions event.

The open house was held Wednesday night at Everest Academy, and featured entries from kindergarten through eighth-grade students in a broad range of categories. Though the majority of entries were in the traditional fine arts category, many students also contributed work in areas such as photography, dance, music, literature and computer-generated art.

“I give the students a lot of credit because participating in this program was something that was done outside of school,” said Sue Zabilka, admissions director at Everest Academy, who also has a child at the school. “It was exciting for our students to participate with other schools and to have the opportunity to work together with their friends who attend other schools.”

First, second- and third-place winners were awarded by outside judges who had expertise in their media. The theme for entries, “Community Is”, required students to reflect on their interpretation of community and to express it in their chosen medium.

River Valley third-grader Julia McCann, who won for a work of literature in her age group, said she enjoyed the challenge.

“It was pretty exciting because you could pick from dance, music; you had lots of choices,” she said.

In previous years, the Parent Teacher Association from District 113A sponsored a similar event solely for students in the district. However, with its switch to school-specific Parent Teacher Organizations at the start of the school year, leaders of the groups decided to try a new approach.

“We wanted to continue this type of art program but have the entire community come together,” explained Michelle Metzler, a district parent who helped organize the event. “Especially during these times when there are so many issues tearing our community apart, we felt it was important to do something that included all the students in Lemont.”

Seven elementary schools were represented in the event, including Central School, Everest Academy, Oakwood School, Old Quarry Middle School, River Valley School, St. Al’s/St. Pat’s Catholic School and Ss. Cyril and Methodius School. The event planning committee included representatives from all participating schools as well.

“All of us on the committee got to know each other and become friends,” said Cindy Lyon, who represented Ss. Cyril and Methodius School on the committee. “[At the event], children would introduce each other to friends from other schools and look at each other’s work in admiration. Everyone appreciated each other’s work and they made new friends--it made the community bigger.”

Winners in all categories will have their work displayed at the Lemont Center for the Arts in March.

“It’s wonderful to be able to showcase the work for the entire community to see,” said Metzler. “When we look at things through a child’s eyes, they have an unblemished view of what community is — they’re the smart ones.”