By Sophie Chung ’27
Student creativity on display in the library lobby.
As you walk around campus, you may have noticed the recent surge in student-produced artwork adorning the walls of buildings. The Andrew Mellon Library is now home to various photos, drawings and paintings created and curated by students in Visual Arts classes at Choate.
According to the Arts Department Head, Mr. Matthew McLean, “It has been a long-term goal of the School … to have student artwork be hung around campus.” Difficulties regarding possible locations for artwork and the rotation of pieces, however, made implementing this goal a convoluted process. “There’s been a lot of back and forth with where it should go and how often it should be rotated,” Mr. McLean said. In addition, he said the responsibility “ultimately rests with the individual visual art teachers to curate which pieces go up and where they go.”
Students in Photography I and Photography II classes captured the photos now displayed in the library lobby. These classes covered various topics and tools that students used to create their final pieces. Waew Techajareonvikul ’27, a Photography I student, highlighted how the topic of abstract photography inspired her to use Photoshop to merge two photos together. Her final picture depicted her grandfather walking and her brother running. “The message being conveyed there was how you grow old,” she explained.
Aiden Kuo ’27, another student in Photography I, captured the New York City skyline. “The photo is just supposed to represent the beauty of nature,” he said.
Junho Lee ’24 also talked about his process. “Since I wanted the photo to be blurry, I made the exposure time a bit long,” Lee said.
Student reception of the newly displayed artworks has been positive. Student-photographer Alex Renaud ’26 said, “I’m happy that my photography got put up on campus.”
Students who took Photography I or II found it to be a rewarding experience. Kuo encourages others to take photography. “You get to explore your interests and find out some things that you didn’t know about yourself before,” he said.
Lee, who is currently working with photography teacher Mr. Matt Kelsey to take photos of student life for the Choate Archives, said, “Photography is a way for me to kind of give back to the community.” He added, “Taking classes like photography or filmmaking, where you’re physically documenting this space, is important to preserve the school’s history.”
In the busy hustle and bustle of life at Choate, taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of our peers’ creations can be a refreshing way to catch a breath. These new displays of new student artwork have allowed others to see the hard work of their peers, a testament to the creativity and imagination of the Choate community.
