Wilbraham & Monson Academy Fine & Performing Arts Chair Paul Bloomfield remembered the first time he had his artwork display and how meaningful that was to him.
"I was 5 years old and the principal hung something I did outside his office for the entire school year," Mr. Bloomfield recalled.
Many years later, Mr. Bloomfield saw an opportunity for Academy students to have their art displayed, knowing how motivational this could potentially be to a budding artist.
Three WMA students – Peter Labbe '17, Julia Diderich '17 and Noah Kantor '19 - had their photographs selected and on display at the State Transportation Building in Boston as part of the 2016 Massachusetts High School Photography Exhibit in the fall. The event was sponsored by the Massachusetts Art Education Association.
"That external recognition can have a deep impact on whether the student feels they are successful in that area or not, and they might not otherwise get that opportunity to receive that feedback if they don't do something like this," Mr. Bloomfield said. "If they don't apply or try these things, they will literally never know. But those students who do, the potential is great, and I don't want to say it could be life-changing, but it could be really impactful."
Peter, Julia and Noah were honored to have their photos displayed. For each of them, it was the first time any of the work had been shown at a public exhibit.
Peter was in Newport, R.I., when a parked vehicle caught his attention. A Ford pickup truck was situated in front of a massive American flag that was draped over a building on the Fourth of July.
"There was a lot of Americana in one picture," Peter said.
Julia received a camera as a birthday gift soon before she came to WMA and was eager to take photographs.
"My sister said I could take a picture of her and she was posing so I took some pictures for fun before I came here to go to school," Julia explained.
Noah, meanwhile, was visiting New York when he came across an open book on the sidewalk.
"It's a picture of a Hebrew Bible in Brooklyn," Noah explained. "My parents and I were walking to the Brooklyn Bridge and the book was on the ground. Some of the pages were torn and I thought it looked interesting, so I took a picture."