Art Education, In All Its Glory, On View At Guild Hall

Standing inside the galleries of Guild Hall in East Hampton, it may be easy to forget, for just a moment, that arts education programs have been slashed at schools across the country—the East End included.

Here, the whitewashed walls are explosive with color, covered by close to 700 works of various media—from traditional drawings and paintings to photography, collage and computer-generated pieces—with sculpture spilling onto the carpeted floors.

What’s more, their creators are all local high school students—just shy of 1,500 of them, according to Christina Strassfield, museum director and chief curator, who also sits on the Southampton School Board.

“When they’re cutting budgets, the arts get cut first. It has taken a significant toll, and there are repercussions,” she said. “And it’s a shame, because I think you really need the arts to have a whole, comprehensive student.”

The 23rd annual “Student Art Festival, Part II”—which encompasses grades nine through 12—expresses vim and vigor, technical expertise, creativity and structure, all of the qualities that more academic subjects, such as science and English, might encompass, and suggests how creative endeavors can be applied to other disciplines.

“Art is about finding solutions to problems,” said Mary Antczak, who previously taught at East Hampton High School for 35 years. “There could be different solutions to the same problem.”

In class, Ms. Antczak would often ask her students to draw various geometric shapes with a pen, connect them with a pathway, and then fill in the shapes. They would then photograph the artwork, flip it using a computer, and print it out, combining both technology and handmade imagery.

Some of the pieces from East Hampton High School and Bridgehampton High School exhibit a similar process. Colorful geometric patterns, each shape with a personality of its own, pervade the East Hampton work, while Bridgehampton’s arresting black-and-white pieces connect each shape to form kaleidoscopes.

“There have been studies that show studying art really enhances your ability to learn and comprehend higher levels of understanding and thinking,” Ms. Strassfield said. “And I really believe that’s true.

“For some of these students, this is their last opportunity to really express themselves with free expression,” she continued. “When they’re in college, it is at a different level, and it is a different approach to teaching art. When they’re still in high school, they do have the opportunity to go with their inner self and express their inner self without any kind of blinders and parameters you put around it.”

And that is what you see in the Guild Hall galleries, she said: creativity, unbound.

The 23rd annual “Student Art Festival Part II,” with work by students from public, private and home schools in ninth through 12th grade, will remain on view through Sunday, April 19, at Guild Hall in East Hampton. Admission to the exhibit is free. Hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., and Mondays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (631) 324-0806, or visit guildhall.org.