The social isolation of the last six months has given Choate students across the globe time to find a new interest or pick up an old hobby. When virtual learning began this past spring term, Joy An ’23 worried that without access to campus and the physical sense of community, many Choate students would lose the inspiration and motivation to explore their creative side. Her solution was to launch Choate Creates, a prompt-based, monthly art showcase displayed on the Choate Student Council Instagram account and in all-school emails.
An credited Inktober as her main inspiration for the initiative. Started in 2009 and a popular tradition to this day, Inktober challenges artists to create one ink drawing per day for the month of October, each day lining up with a single word from the official prompt list.
“It struck me that it was maybe harder to find inspiration for art in quarantine,” An said. “I created this Choate Creates program in an effort to encourage people to continue creating artwork, even when we were all stuck at home.”
Celeste van Dokkum ’23, who has been drawing since middle school, is a frequent participant in Choate Creates. “It gives me a chance to be creative,” van Dokkum said. “It’s nice to have something that forces you to do art because, with classes and everything, it’s kind of hard to prioritize that.”
“If there’s a good prompt, then I’m like, ‘I have an idea for this! I’m going to draw it!’” van Dokkum continued. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but you get excited about it. It’s fun.”
A dancer and violinist, An admitted that she is not very good at drawing but appreciates the art nonetheless. According to An, being in orchestra developed her love of how music, visual art, and dance can melt together and become one. She cites art as a powerful reminder of the universal languages that connect us, transcending time, distance, and cultural barriers.
An’s goal is for Choate Creates to become a monthly reminder both that art has the ability to connect students worldwide, and that people are still creating art and finding inspiration in the world despite the ongoing pandemic.
