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-------- Talan Collins / CR News
March 24, 2025
(CR News) - Overhead the dimgray floors of the Black Box—constructed to absorb the rhythm of dancers’ feet—a lighting grid still hangs, a relic of River’s performing past. In what has become an increasingly rare occurrence, the lights flickered on Tuesday night, under which IB Art students stepped into an expressive space rarely granted to them; one of visibility and validation.
For her, art is “about voicing who you are without using words or other methods. [The IB Art] show is a way to show people your identity.”
(CR News) - Overhead the dimgray floors of the Black Box—constructed to absorb the rhythm of dancers’ feet—a lighting grid still hangs, a relic of River’s performing past. In what has become an increasingly rare occurrence, the lights flickered on Tuesday night, under which IB Art students stepped into an expressive space rarely granted to them; one of visibility and validation.
Presenting both deeply personal and strikingly unique collections of works, IB Art teacher Jason Phelps describes seniors’ final exhibition as their “graduation” from the program—the culmination of over two years of impassioned creative exploration and pensive storytelling.
Soft classical and orchestral music gave the room an introspective ambiance, actively inviting parents, friends, and community to indulge in the rich variety of themed exhibits meticulously curated by this year’s student artists.
Theresa Nehnevaj’s exhibit, titled Community Garden, sought to “recognize how important community is” in shaping her own identity.
“The subjects of most of my artworks are the people I am close to,” she writes in her rationale, explaining that her pieces were arranged chronologically to reflect her evolving understanding of familial, athletic, and global communities.
“While I am able to differentiate between the communities I am a part of, no community is independent of the others.” She hoped her art would “foster in viewers a sense of belonging: the profound realization that they are an important member of their community.”
Selected to give the night’s opening speech, Karina Alavez Santiago broke free from the canvas—-and traditional boundaries—with her exhibit Meant to Color, cleverly displaying painted portraits on repurposed denim and a vividly illustrated wooden bus seat. Her works explore her immigrant family identity and presence through bold colors and a use of unconventional materials.
For her, art is “about voicing who you are without using words or other methods. [The IB Art] show is a way to show people your identity.”
Jax Kesling’s exhibition, The Hands that Write my Story, explored a timeline of emotional growth, from themes of love and family to grief and mortality.
“I want my art to help them feel less isolated in their experiences and let them know that they are not alone,” they wrote in their curatorial rationale.
Their works included both 2D and 3D pieces, with inspiration drawn from sculpture artists and personal challenges. “The experience is really meaningful,” Kesling tells CR News. “It's nice getting to show off my artwork and have various different people from different backgrounds [in] a whole community getting to see an experience.”
The IB Visual Arts program emphasizes conceptual development, technical skills, and cultural awareness, encouraging students to create art that reflects both individual growth and globally relevant themes.
Tuesday’s show shone a beaming spotlight on the individual journeys of River’s student artists—defined not just by their thought provoking explorations of select mediums, but by their courage to share who they are as they prepare for life beyond their high school canvas.
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