Riverdale’s Open Studio Class Offers Seniors Creative Liberty to Pursue Individual Projects
LEFT: Senior Nicole van Brugge paints a variety of portraits in open studio.
Photo courtesy of Nicole van Burgge
RIGHT: Senior Amaya Tavares’s photography captures various landscapes
Photo courtesy of Amaya Tavares
At Riverdale there are a variety of art classes that students can choose from, many of which are tailored to specific artistic mediums. However, these selections often do not give students the opportunity to explore the types of art that they might be interested in because not all types of art are included within the curriculum. At RCS we are fortunate to have Open Studio, a class taught by Upper School art teacher Ms. Angela Paris. Open Studio gives students the opportunity to express themselves through art in any way they please. It is this liberty that attracts many seniors to the class each year.
As Ms. Paris explained, “Open Studio is a space for students to explore the other elements of art or a wider range of mediums, so they might not have to draw all year or paint all year,” something that might not appeal to all art students. While some students may want to focus solely on painting or drawing, Open Studio provides seniors with the opportunity to discover what they are looking for in an art class.
This class is not alone in its exploration of a variety of artistic mediums, as Foundation Studies in Art, a class offered to freshmen, is similarly eclectic in introducing a variety of topics to new students. Foundations is regarded as the ‘entry level’ class and therefore provides students with basic knowledge of a range of different practices and skills, with the aim of inspiring a student to take a special interest in a topic and pursue it in a more focused manner the following year. While Open Studio does not have what Ms. Paris calls a “rigid class structure or curriculum,” it does allow students to delve deeper into certain topics that incite their passion without feeling limited to the class selections that Riverdale provides. Open Studio, unlike the majority of other art classes, allows for students to take their projects into their own hands, as class time is chiefly devoted to independent work.
Over the course of the year, seniors in Open Studio take on projects that they can focus on both in and out of the classroom, which appeals to many students who want to enjoy more freedom in their artistic pursuits. “Open Studio is creatively free,” explained Kaitlin Russo, a senior currently enrolled in the course. “We are encouraged to test out any and all ideas.” These projects really have no limitations, as students are encouraged to express themselves through their art and truly pursue what they are passionate about. Many of the students’ projects have included enormous paintings as well as other large scale projects. These projects do not only come in all shapes and sizes, but are also created through a diverse array of methods that are sometimes exclusive to the class. Whether it is through graphic design or sculpting, there are very few barriers that stand between a student and their finished product apart from self-motivation and creative expression.
Due to remote and hybrid learning, however, the process of creating Open Studio projects has changed significantly. Ava Ledes, a senior participating in Open Studio, explained that usually “there’s a bit of real time feedback and discussion that’s hard to mimic with remote learning.” Unfortunately, this is one of the chief challenges that most visual art students face while they are in a remote setting, and it especially affects the freeing nature of Open Studio.
Presently, it is much more difficult, if not impossible, for Open Studio students to create larger scale projects. As Ms. Paris explained, because we have “such a knowledgeable art faculty,” as well as “all of Lindenbaum at our disposal,” the students in her class will be able to realize their creative potential no matter the setting. Additionally, Ms. Paris mentioned that the other art teachers, such as the graphic design staff, have been instrumental in guiding a handful of students who want to pursue alternative forms of art that may lend themselves to hybrid or remote learning. Hopefully, the need to adapt to a new environment with more constraints will show the Open Studio students that they do not always need a big space to create their art, and it is possible to do so from home.
