New York is known for its amazing arts scene, but how does this affect students at Westminster? From Sept. 21-23, the AP Art students and faculty visited New York to see its vibrant arts scene for themselves. They visited various places in New York, such as the Met, MoMA, Washington Square Park, and more.
“The purpose was to find inspiration for our final projects and for our sustained investigations,” said junior Gaby Carvajal. “We went to a bunch of museums, and we got to see different perspectives and ideas that would benefit our overall projects throughout the year.”
Carvajal thought the Met and MoMA were the most memorable because of their modern and historical art. She enjoyed going to the Met’s rooftop art garden and seeing the city of New York at night.
“When we went to MoMA there was this one gallery, and it was about expressing art through feelings, and I saw how it doesn’t have to be perfect. Now that I’m working back [at Westminster] I try to express that in my art and try to find different ways to incorporate that,” said Carvajal.
Founded in 1929 by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., MoMA, also known as the Museum of Modern Art, aims to embrace creativity and inclusivity of all types of art. Barr Jr. hoped for MoMA to be “the greatest museum of modern art in the world.” A few of its current exhibitions include Figures and Forms, Leslie Thornton’s HANDMADE, and Robert Frank’s Scrapbook Footage.
“[The trip] was meant for AP students to go and gather inspiration for the whole year,” said AP Art teacher Pamela Martinez. “For [the teachers], it was really important to have the trip be tied to curriculum.”
For many years, the AP Art department took students on a trip across the country to Oregon to get them to experience art and do art projects on the West Coast rather than the East. They visited the redwoods, the ocean, and the sand dunes. After the pandemic, there was a lack of interest in traveling across the country, so the art department decided to switch the trip to “an urban adventure,” as Martinez calls it.
“To see students in those spaces documenting what they were seeing based on their interests, like what was their favorite piece, and they had to draw it for their sketchbook– watching students do something that I never did at their age was really heartwarming to see,” said Martinez.
Martinez has taught at Westminster for ten years and is also a professional artist in Atlanta. As a professional artist, she has experience with the art system and knows how to approach questions about who the artist is or what the gallery’s name is when going to galleries.
“The students did not know how to use the system,” said Martinez. “It is a system that is in some ways trying to keep people out, but it’s kind of alluring and mysterious, and [the art teachers] are used to that mystery, and the students weren’t, so we exposed them to the system, which was super cool. Now they know how to use it.”
“I learned a lot more about how the art industry looks and how it works,” said junior Kirsten Liang. “It’s a whole community, and you need to develop a personal style, then you get signed to another artist so that you can show your work in their gallery. That’s how the Chelsea galleries worked, and I thought that was really interesting.”
Through this trip, Liang learned more about what her original voice sounds like. Watching people in New York allowed her to see the diversity of the world and art. It was humbling to see some ideas she thought were novel but had already been created. Liang saw many different kinds of art, which provided her with new ideas.
“You can get wrapped up in your own art because you think art is about expressing your own emotions and experiences, but looking at other people’s art is just as important.”
The AP Art trip was an inspiring experience for both the students and faculty. Through their experiences at MoMA, the Met, and more, they were able to find inspiration for their final projects. This trip changed the students’ perspectives on what art is and all of the different ways it can be expressed and viewed. The Westminster community looks forward to seeing the awe-inspiring pieces that these artists will produce for their final projects.
Edited by Kavya Athota
