Drawing from over 60 years of U-High graduating classes, Corvus Gallery is hosting a new exhibit featuring alumni artists during fall quarter.
The exhibit, curated by Gina Alicea, an art teacher, includes artworks in various mediums, from ceramics to video art.
Initially proposed by 2024 alumnus Reid Surmeier, the idea for the exhibit was met with enthusiastic reactions from the 20 alumni participating.
“Oh, they loved it. I mean, they were, they were so excited about this, you know, to have their work here. They’re thrilled,” Ms. Alicea said of the alumni participating. “Oh, I want to be a part of this. Oh, I want to come talk to the students. I want to visit.”
Through this exhibit, Ms. Alicea wants to highlight stories of success in a time when the arts are often devalued, emphasizing how the arts have always been essential to John Dewey’s philosophy of learning and to Lab’s mission of encouraging creativity and innovation.
“For Dewey, the arts were very important because it expresses the spirit of the person, their creativity,”Ms. Alicea said. “At Lab, we’ve had art as part of our curriculum for over 100 years. I think it particularly represents the creativity and curiosity that’s part of our mission here at Lab, because it’s made such a huge difference.”
One of the included artists, Louise LeBourgeois, Class of 1981, said that while she wasn’t particularly artistic in high school, for her May Project she interned at the university’s Renaissance Society, which exposed her to the possibility of pursuing art in college.
“I had a spark of a feeling that I could be an artist,” Ms. LeBourgeois said. “Sometimes you just have a thought that arrives in your brain, like, boom. But it was something about that May Project at Lab, really, that opened my eyes to art in a way they hadn’t been opened before.”
Ms. Alicea and Ms. LeBourgeois both emphasized that it is important for student artists to have successful role models who inspire them, even if the students themselves aren’t yet certain about their own career paths.
“A lot of people at that age, no matter what school you’re at, really don’t know,” Ms. LeBourgeois said. “It’s like they kind of, you know, are meandering, they’re exploring. Their lives will take unexpected turns, and they’ll end up doing something. But I think it’s really important to have a vision, at that age, of possibilities.”
While many see the arts as a difficult career path, Ms. LeBourgeois stressed that with hard work and perseverance, opportunities will emerge. She noted that artists will receive a variety of advice from parents, friends, and professors, but ultimately, their path should be guided by what they personally value most.
“There’s years of such exponential growth and sort of self-knowledge and self-questioning, and, you know, wrestling with moral values and and who are you, and what do you care about the most?” Ms. LeBourgeois said. “But, there’s something about commitment and persistence that I think is universally respected. If you demonstrate that in a community, in an arts community, people notice, yeah, and opportunities open up for you.”
