Welcome to Proctor Academy Arts Department's first website dedicated to showcasing our students' work in Performing; Visual; Industrial; & Media Arts! For many who visit or attend visual and performing art shows, the quality of the art work or of the performances is often used as a measure of the quality of those programs and therefore that of each student’s overall experience in that program. One might ask, if not the quality of the work, then what should one use to assess the true value, intent, and purpose of these art programs?
Students who enter the world of Visual or Industrial Arts, studying Studio Art, Photography, Ceramics, Woodworking, or Metal Engineering are sometimes discovering these mediums and learning their tools and principles for the first time. The work they produce can be reflective of their place on this journey of discovery. Likewise with Music and Theatre Ensembles, students are sometimes just finding the courage and confidence to, for the first time, step into the spotlight while beginning to develop the skill sets needed to deliver high-level performances.
Students may initially join these programs because of a mandate but they stay, develop, and flourish because it is fulfilling. It feeds a human need – to communicate and express. The creation of an environment that allows for this is particular and is a part of what makes these programs valuable.
Art teaches ask students to risk and so to trust. They ask students to step clearly outside of their comfort zones in order to discover aspects of themselves and their world they may not have even been aware of prior to. Using the Arts Department’s Teaching Practices and Goals, students develop in ways that are universal to human development far beyond the skills sets and craft development unique to each discipline.
Students learn to engage and persist, accepting that mistakes and less-than-perfect outcomes are all a part of the process and the journey. They learn observation skills and practice reflection while they discover intentionality. The resulting comfort and confidence encourages them to stretch beyond their often self-imposed limits and then to share their insights and discoveries with others.
For those using the professional world of visual and performing art as the measuring stick to assess the value of educational programs along with the student experience, I would assert that the real, true value may be found in the process itself and not necessarily in the physical or visual product alone. The quality of the student work, extraordinary or otherwise, may be easily overshadowed by the viewer’s realization that students have experienced significant personal growth during the process.
As Arts Chair, I ask our visitors to set those “Broadway” expectations aside and realize that this student work represents a continuing journey or in some cases, a leap over a personal threshold into a future of self-confidence, awareness and expression.
We in the Arts Department sincerely thank all for the privilege of working with these fearless and innately talented young individuals.
Bill Wightman
