Student art exhibit a special feature for Dia de los Muertos
Gizzel Anaya, Warren High senior, with her painting which will be displayed with the fine art exhibit in the Downey Theatre. (Courtesy photo)
DOWNEY — Students and parents have an extra reason to be excited about the return of Downey’s acclaimed Dia de los Muertos Art Festival to a live venue this Saturday, Oct. 30.
In addition to musical performances and extensive displays of fine art, crafts, and ofrendas (including a community altar), this year’s festival will also feature a special exhibit of student artwork. This student exhibit was organized by the Downey Arts Coalition which has been managing the fine art exhibit inside the theater since the festival’s inception.
“I’m excited to report that we have approximately 53 art pieces, one altar, and 25 ceramic skulls,” says Eloisa Ball, curator of the student work. Entries come from Downey’s three public high schools, four middle schools, and five of its elementary schools, as well as surrounding schools in Whittier, Bellflower, and Santa Fe Springs. There is also an entry from a student attending East LA City College.
Student submissions were solicited through the school districts and Ball recounts an overwhelmingly positive response from parents and teachers.
Student work will be located in the patio area on the north side of Downey City Library, just across from City Hall.
Charlotte Berhow, a fourth grader at Lewis Elementary School, with her art submission for the Dia de los Muertos festival. (Courtesy photo)
Lewis Elementary School fourth-grader Charlotte Berhow explains she is excited to be participating because her grandmother celebrates this holiday. Charlotte’s project is an image of a calaveras (skull) on canvas using varied media.
“My grandma decorates her house and we light candles to remember the people who passed away,” says Charlotte. “We eat the food that they liked.” Some of her relatives liked ice cream and Doctor Pepper, she adds.
Sussman seventh-grader Jocelyn Rodriguez is exhibiting La Soledad de la Noche, a work she says was inspired by her research and “the Mexican dresses and Mexican culture and how colorful it is.”
Jocelyn says her creative process was not totally smooth sailing. “At first I was nervous because when I started the painting I wasn’t really liking how it started but I told myself that I just needed to trust the process, and just finish it.”
Her perseverance paid off. “Once I finished the painting,” she recounts, “I was really happy with it and excited to be able to have this opportunity.”
Jocelyn’s mother Brenda says “We really enjoy the Downey festival as a family, so it’s kind of a tradition for us.” They have attended for three years, with the exception of its absence due to the COVID pandemic.
High School Students
Eloisa Ball was so impressed with the work of Warren senior Gizzel Anaya that one of Anaya’s pieces will be included with the fine art display (“Ofrendas”) inside the Downey Theatre.
Anaya says she is self-taught, but always “had a passion for drawing and art generally.” After graduation she plans to study psychology and child development.
“I hope to incorporate art into that career as a child therapist,” says Anaya, “allowing children to express themselves through art.”
Columbus High will be well represented at the festival with 25 students showcasing their ceramic work.
“I am so proud of my students,” says art teacher Jennifer LaMar, who instructs five classes every day.
LaMar felt the opportunity for students to exhibit their work at an event with such visibility was a good antidote to the “collective trauma” of the COVID pandemic with its isolation and Zoom classes.
“You could see their faces light up when I told them about this opportunity,” she reports. “They asked me, ’You mean I could be in an art show? Like, I’m good enough?’ I told them, ‘Absolutely you are good enough.’”
LaMar feels there is often an unfair image of Columbus students because they are attending a continuation school. “These are good kids,” she affirms.
Senior Tzuri Perez, who plans to study nursing after high school, feels that participating in the festival “is a good experience mainly because you’re creating a memory that you’ve never unlocked before.”
Having his artwork on display “is a good opportunity,” agrees senior Salvador Hernandez, who plans to start his own vintage clothing business, “especially after the pandemic to show that we are worth something here at Columbus.”
La Mar’s students will be exhibiting clay calaveras (skulls) that have been fired and painted to reflect the theme of Dia de los Muertos. LaMar’s instructional schedule dovetailed with the fall festival.
Art teacher Jennifer LaMar assisting Columbus students. (Photo by Carol Kearns)
“I usually do the ceramics unit first in the year,” she explains, “because it catches their attention, it’s fun, it’s hands-on. You know, you get them hooked and we can go into some drawing skills, some painting.”
Participating senior Fernando Munoz, plans to enter the pharmacist tech program at Downey Adult School after graduation. He explains, “I think [the art exhibit] is a good experience to open up that creative side of us and express ourselves through the class models that we made.”
Senior Christopher Munoz, who plans to study inventory management after graduation and work in his family’s business, concurs: “I think it’s a good experience to try something new and it’s definitely something interesting.”
Principal Xochitl Ortiz explains that the school covered the entry fees for all of the students “because we don’t want to put any student on the spot. We want them to stay safe, and the fee could mean the difference of having lunch one day.”
While most of LaMar’s students are not participating for various reasons, she is still happy with the number of students who are.
“I’m excited about the turnout,” she explains. “It’s the equivalent of one full art class.”
Woodruff Student Academy
The Columbus High School campus also hosts the Woodruff Student Academy which serves middle school and early high school students who need a more individual learning environment.
Teaching assistant Adriana Rojas is guiding her students to prepare paper masks for exhibit at the coming festival.
“This is a good opportunity for them,” she observes, “because they don’t always see themselves in a bright light.”
Some of her students will be helping the small group of transitional adult students who are also served at Columbus.
This cooperation contributes to a positive self-image, explains Rojas. They are showing “kindness, compassion, and patience, and it’s honestly really nice to see these kids do just that. They remind me of why I am teaching.”
With positive experiences for so many students, curator Eloisa Ball feels strongly about having a student art exhibit at future Dia de los Muertos Art Festivals.
“This is DAC’s first ever,” she declares, “but not last, Student Art Exhibition.”
Dia de los Muertos Festival is this Saturday, Oct. 30, 11 am – 8 pm. Admission and parking are free. See further information online at www.ddlm.downeytheatre.org
