Celebration of the Arts

Jesuit High School was chock-full of extraordinary artistic talent - and fabulous food - on Sunday afternoon (April 22) at the annual Celebration of the Arts and A Taste of Jesuit festivities.

Jesuit's visual artists, under the direction of Kevin Ball '03, once again created an amazing showcase throughout the Multi-Purpose Room for the Juried Art Show. The two highest honors were awarded to seniors in Jesuit's exceptional AP Art program: Ethan Dieck '18 earned Best in Show, and Diego Perez-Aracena '18 was recognized for Best AP Portfolio, with Dieck placing 2nd and Nick Vastano '18 3rd.

Dieck, whose AP Portfolio theme was psychological disorders, won Best in Show for his powerful acrylic on utility fabric painting titled "A.D.D." Ball and Dieck are pictured on the homepage, with "A.D.D." between them.

Perez-Aracena's AP Portfolio theme was stigmatized human abnormalities, and Vastano's theme was rusted and decaying items. Click here to view a slideshow of the winning artwork (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) from all 11 categories in the Juried Art Show. Click here for a photo slideshow from the Juried Art Show.

Among the other category winners were Robbie Shaffer '19 in two disciplines, Charcoal Studies and Scratchboard, Paul Schnell '19 in Low Key High Contrast, Rodrigo Garcia-Gil '19 in Mixed Media, Tyler Petitt '19 in Pen & Ink, and Loki Fountain '19 in Acrylic Painting.

The judges for the show were renowned artist Dr. Jose Rodeiro '67, Debra Malschick of the Savannah College of Art and Design, and local artist Adam Woodard '13, a former AP Studio Art student at Jesuit.

Outside in the Student Commons, the hundreds in attendance at Celebration of the Arts enjoyed wonderful theatre and musical performances. The Jesuit choir, under the direction of Dominic DiCarlo, performed first, followed by stage performances from two of Jesuit's award-winning thespians, Jimmy Grammig '21 and Riley Buchanan '20.

Music director Nina Wegmann led Jesuit's musicians through numerous pieces featuring the full range of instruments. Among the highlights were a special arrangement of Camila Cabello's "Havana" featuring Michael McDonough '21 on violin, Joseph Ralston '19 on electric violin, and Jordan Vivero '18 on the keyboard, as well as popular takes on "In the Mood" and "Hot Hot Hot." Jesuit's musicians will perform these numbers and many more, including selections from George Harrison, Elton John, and Nirvana, at their spring concert on Saturday (April 28) at 7:00pm in the MPR.

A Taste of Jesuit provided the delicious fare on Sunday. Food tents in the Student Commons served guests an array of outstanding items against the backdrop of Jesuit's new Chapel of the Holy Cross. Jesuit expresses its gratitude for all of the vendors who supported Celebration of the Arts 2018: Noble Crust, M&R Catering, Gino's, Florida Fresh Vending, Catering by the Family, and Beef O'Brady's, along with the Jesuit Mothers' Club and Jesuit Dads' Club.

View two photo slideshows below of Celebration of the Arts, the first from the Juried Art Show, and the second from the events in the Student Commons.