Del Val art recognized in local showcases

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Michal Klajban

Del Val student artwork will proudly be displayed in Hunterdon art showcases this weekend

Jordan Oldenburg, The Delphi Staff

Delaware Valley Regional High School has a big opening weekend ahead of them. This year, Del Val is very lucky to showcase several pieces of student and teacher artwork outside of school in the Hunterdon Art Museum (HAM).

This is a major accomplishment for Del Val as a whole, and both art teachers, Mrs. Ruppert and Mr. Farnsworth, are incredibly honored and very excited to help celebrate art and art education in Hunterdon County. 

“The Young Artist Showcase is a wonderful testimony to the talent and commitment of our students,” Mrs. Ruppert said. “Even though this was a challenging year, the students engaged and created important and beautiful work.” 

40 pieces of Del Val art were chosen to be a part of this online showcase. The exhibition features many forms of art, including photo collage, drawings, photography, and more. “We encourage the exploration of art and creative problem-solving. We challenge our students to take creative risks, believe in the transformational power of art, and know that the creative mind transcends the studio into all subject areas,” Mrs. Ruppert said. And creative the wide variety of these student works are. This recognition in the Young Artist Showcase is a wholly deserved achievement for Del Val students. 

In addition to the HAM’s Young Artist Showcase, the Hunterdon Art Tour, another exhibition a part of HAM, will also take place this weekend as a three-day event. Del Val art will be represented as a part of the Hunterdon Art Teachers and Students (HATS) exhibition, with Mrs. Ruppert, Mr. Farnsworth, and two selected Del Val students showcasing each of their artworks on display at the HAM. 

Being a part of the HATS is an important accomplishment for Del Val, as the dedication and talent of both the teachers and students is being recognized outside the bounds of the high school. HATS also celebrates the success and teamwork between art teachers and their students. 

“This show celebrates the powerful and important relationship between student and teacher,” Ruppert said. “Each of us informs, grows, and learns from the other. And when it works well, it truly is symbiotic.” For both Del Val students and teachers, this is an impressive and well earned accomplishment.

Both of these showcases are extremely important in recognition of Del Val’s art program. As this type of talent and hard work appears at times to go underrepresented and underappreciated, having over 40 works of art from Del Val put on display for all of Hunterdon is a worthy and great achievement for the school, community, and of course, the artists. 

Mrs. Ruppert remarks, “There is so much talent under this blue and gold roof and these events allow us to recognize, celebrate, and showcase those students and staff involved in the arts.”

The Young Artist Showcase can currently be viewed online at https://hunterdonartmuseum.org/virtual-exhibitions/ under the “Delaware Valley Regional High School” tab.

The 40 pieces of incredible talent will be featured at this link for two weeks. The Hunterdon Art Tour, in which Del Val’s participants in HATS will be featured in, is opening online with a live virtual opening this weekend on May 1st and 2nd. To see the wonderful artwork in person, the HAM, located at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton, will be open to the public from 11am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. 

Congratulations Del Val artists. You earned it!