Portraits by RSU 40 elementary and middle schoolers crowd the walls of the district-wide art show at Medomak Valley High School on Thursday, March 14. Responding to the theme of “home,” students from the five towns that make up RSU 40 created diverse works that interpreted the theme in a spectrum of perspectives, media, and colors. (Molly Rains photo)
RSU 40 students showcased their creativity and craftsmanship at the quadrennial district-wide art show, using media from clay to collage and a spectrum of color and perspectives to explore the theme of “home.”
Every wall of the Medomak Valley High School gymnasium was crowded with artwork on the evening of Thursday, March 14, with additional pieces displayed on tables and temporary walls that teachers had placed throughout the cavernous space. Each RSU 40 school was represented in the show, with artworks on display from every grade from pre-kindergarten to high school seniors.
The theme of home was tangible throughout the show. Student works approached the concept from every angle, some taking a literal approach — one table, for example, was laid with carefully constructed, delicately glazed ceramic houses — and others imagining “home” through a more metaphorical lens.
Visitors read student-authored booklets during RSU 40’s district-wide art show at Medomak Valley High School on Thursday, March 14. In the books, students wrote and illustrated what the show’s theme, “home,” means to them — from the football field to a cozy place to sleep. (Molly Rains photo)
To one side of the gymnasium, folding tables were laden end-to-end with collage and watercolor booklets created by Medomak Middle School eighth grade students.
“At home I feel safe,” one colorful booklet read. “Home is where my family is,” it continued.
“Home is safe and fun, home is cozy and free,” read another. “Home is my place.”
The diversity of artworks on display at the showcase evidenced that the meaning and associations of “home” vary widely among students.
For some RSU 40 students, “home” is not as tangible a place as it is for others, Nancy Stover, the district’s homeless and mental health coordinator, said during the show’s opening remarks. Stover and other administrators, including RSU 40 Assistant Superintendent Christina Wotton, are grappling in recent years with a rising prevalence of homelessness among local youths and their families.
“If you know someone, or if you yourself are facing housing insecurity, we want to know. We want to help,” Stover said.
The RSU 40 district-wide art show was held every four years between 1984 and 2012, but has not been held since then, Medomak Valley High School Art Teacher Brooke Holland noted during the show’s dedication.
In 2020, teachers went through the process of setting up the entire show in the gymnasium, only to receive a last-minute call to cancel the event as district schools entered the COVID-19 lockdown, she recalled.
The hiatus, Holland suggested, made this year’s show especially meaningful.
The show was dedicated to two RSU 40 art teachers: Libbie Winslow and Krisanne Baker. Winslow is an art teacher at Medomak Valley High School, while Baker previously held the position and is currently pursuing her art full time.
Holland noted that the show was the outcome of hard work from creative students and dedicated staff throughout the district.
“I just couldn’t be prouder of these students and their artwork,” she said.
Visitors to the RSU 40 art show on Thursday, March 14 take in the works on display, all of which were inspired by the show’s guiding theme of “home.” Interpretations of the theme varied widely, with works on display ranging from doll-sized ceramic homes to abstract, black-and-white photos and everything in between. (Molly Rains photo)
