A celebration of art: Kaneland School District hosts 17th annual fine arts festival

The Kaneland School District on April 10 hosted its 17th annual fine arts festival at Kaneland High School. The event welcomed around 3,000 guests and a wealth of performing and visual artists from District 302 schools, as well as the Kaneland community and beyond.

The Kaneland Community Fine Arts Festival began in May 1998 at Kaneland South Elementary School (now known as John Shields Elementary) in an effort to showcase the talent found within the school district. The festival took a hiatus in 2005 to accommodate new construction at Kaneland High School, then resumed in 2006 in the high school’s then-new auditorium.

“[Then-Kaneland School District art teacher] Bonnie Whildin and another art teacher in the district wanted to bring more people out together to enjoy art,” said Maria Dripps-Paulson, executive director for the Kaneland Arts Initiative. “Back then, there weren’t as many cultural opportunities in this area, so they wanted to offer free visual and performing arts.”

The fine arts festival began as a series of lectures based on different mediums of art. Over the years, however, the event has evolved into a show that displays various art forms and offers some lectures in order to let guests enjoy the festival at their own pace. Each year’s event takes about 30 people and a year to plan, according to Dripps-Paulson.

This year’s festival featured a handful of artists from all around the state who presented, sold and demonstrated their art during the festival. Among the artists was Margie Olszewski, a digital artist who sat and talked with guests about her medium of art, the tools needed for it and how she begins each piece.

“I start on a blank screen [on the computer] and work my way backward. I start out really transparent and do a wash of the entire background, and then get more opaque and detailed as I go,” Olszewski said.

According to Olszewski, she was invited to attend the fine arts festival at another art show last year. Dripps-Paulson said that she and Kaneland art teacher Heidi Gilkey scout out artists for each year’s show by attending various art shows in the community.

“We are one of the few art shows that actually hires our artists to come out, instead of them paying to be a part of the festival,” Dripps-Paulson said. “That way, we can get the quality of art that we desire.”

Wrapping around the hallways was the artwork of students from all over the school district. Artwork from the elementary schools, middle school and high school were displayed, showcasing everything from drawn pictures to photography and ceramics.

“[The festival] really shows the creativity each student has, [as well as] the types of things going on in the art classrooms. It is more than just coloring,” said Sara Chumbley, whose son, first-grader Brayden, had artwork featured during the fest.

Dripps-Paulson said any student with art featured in the festival should consider it an honor.

“There are around 500 pieces of student art, but this is a huge district, so to pick only 500 pieces means that there was a very selective selection process. I’m not sure if many people understand that,” Dripps-Paulson said. “Whenever the professional artists get a break and they can take a look around and see the art, the always comment on how great it all is. That’s a great compliment for us.”

In addition to the displays of artwork, the festival also boasted a number of performances from different bands of different grade levels within the district. Dripps-Paulson said a majority of the bands began preparing in February for their performance.

New to this year’s festival were performances from Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo.

“Each year we try to add something new, so this year we added taekwondo performances,” Dripps-Paulson said.

The taekwondo performance featured members as young as 7 years of age, as they demonstrated to the audience their ability to break boards and execute basic self-defense moves.

“It is a very action-filled event,” said Ann Janecek of Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo. “Taekwondo is a martial art, and we’re very happy that we were asked to perform today. This is a very emotional and physical form of art.”

Although the festival is only a day in length, the impact it has on each participant is much longer. The festival is made possible by a number of donors, grants and fundraisers, as well as the hard work done by its volunteers and employees.

“It’s a labor of love. There is a small group of people who work to make this happen. There is never an off day,” Dripps-Paulson said. “The fine arts fest is a great experience. I think families should come even if their kids aren’t featured in some way and make it a tradition. It’s just a really good experience to have.”

OUTBOX

To see additional photos from this year’s Kaneland Fine Arts Festival, turn to pages 12 and 13 of the Kane Weekend section.