Between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday, April 14, Clausen Hall undertook an amazing transformation. The chairs were removed, the computer disappeared and the walls were covered with photographs, paintings and computer graphics created by AHS’s very own art students.

This year, over 24 AHS artists showed off their masterpieces to teachers, friends, and relatives in the IB Art Show. The creations spanned a variety of categories, including Arts, Photography and Computer Graphics.

The artists have been working on their pieces for a long time. “Everyone here has worked on their projects at least for the past last year. We also had a day off school yesterday, April 13, to work on our pieces,” said Art National Honor Society President Ellamarie Quimby.

AHS students find inspiration for their artwork from all around them. “Films, cinema, music, fashion—everything has inspired me. I also try to showcase eras before me through my work,” said Rene Medrano. Senior Kyle Mills added, “My inspirations are just things, people, buildings I see on the street. I don’t go out of my way seeking inspiration.”

Travel has also inspired a lot of artists. “I started out with pictures of nature, and my visit to Costa Rica gave me an amazing opportunity to pursue just that. But it was a challenge for me to capture human emotions through photography, and that’s what I tried to show through my photos” said senior Cassandra Manahl, who has been taking photography since freshman year. Quimby said, “I have gone to Portugal, Spain, London, Paris and I just spent some time in Ireland. All these experiences helped me get a broader view of art, and have helped my photos in general,”

Finding a theme and a topic to present can be challenging, and most students went through a long process before settling on one topic for the IB Art show. “I initially put off finding a topic for six months. But I randomly found my topic when I was having a conversation with someone—home is a place that we all associate with comfort, familiar things. It just came to me,” said Quimby. Her exhibit, Finding Home, was the opening exhibit during this year’s Art Show, with 24 photographs

This year’s show was striking in more ways than one. “The thing that strikes me the most about all the artwork that is presented here is the variety. There are so many styles and themes here, and you can see that each artist is different—if you assign the same subject to two artists here, they will come out with completely different finished products,” said Quimby.

Most spectators were amazed by the exhibition. “I am astounded by the variety of artwork here. The different inspirations, the different styles used—this is exactly what IB is about!” said Social Studies teacher John Hawes. AHS IB Coordinator Erin Albright also remarked, “I love that the artists are thinking about what they are creating—they are expressing their own ideas, opinions, etc. I also like that all the students are seeing connections to daily life, what they have read, what they experience, etc. Often, you can see these artists on a journey—the students are making progress, and that’s good.”

Several upcoming seniors also attended the Art Show to get a feel for what they would have to do next year. “I am excited and nervous about presenting in the IB Art Show next year,” said junior Juliana Leventhal. “I’m most nervous about getting my work matted. But I’m sure it is going to be a great experience.”

AHS art teachers have been very supportive of their students throughout the process. “Our teachers have been nothing short of wonderful. Ms. Stevens has always been there as a friend, a teacher, a counselor, and so much more. I could NOT have done this without her,” said Quimby.

After looking at the artwork and photography displayed in the Art Show, Photography teacher Meredith Buzzell-Stevens said, “There was a lot of thought and heart that went into what they did. And you can see it in their work. Their artwork is the truest representation of what they gather, and what they see in the world around them. It’s one of the reasons I love all the pieces.”

On the morning of April 18, 2009, over 110 AHS students, teachers and other community members came to Lake Accotink Park to support the third annual Walk for Darfur, hosted by the IB Class of 2009.

 The Walk is an annual tradition started in 2007 by IB Diploma Candidates to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur.

"It’s a great way to keep the IB tradition alive, but also to address an ongoing conflict," said IB Class of 2009 Diploma candidate Jane Rabinovitz

 A lot of effort went into this year’s Walk for Darfur. Seniors started planning in March to advertise the event, design the t-shirt and prepare for the event. This year’s t-shirt was designed by senior Rene Medrano, and featured the “Walk for Darfur” logo underneath a pair of legs against a red background.

"It kind of got intense towards the end because we hadn’t advertised as much as we would've like to so we were wearing our t-shirts like every day,” said Rabinovitz

Volunteers started arriving at Lake Accotink Park from 8:00 a.m. to prepare for the Walk. Almost 25 volunteers, mostly AHS students and teachers, helped out with this year’s Walk for Darfur. This included everything from posting flyers around the trail to blowing up balloons, setting up the picnic area, and managing registration.

 AHS teachers provided a lot of support and encouragement this year by attending the Walk. “Some teachers even offered their classes extra-credit for coming to the walk, which really helped boost participation. We were all very appreciative of the AHS faculty support we got this year!” said Jane Rabinovitz.
John Hawes, IB TOK, Geography and Government teacher, said, “It was a great day, in all senses of the word; the weather, the turn-out, the enthusiasm. The senior IB Diploma class deserves everyone’s thanks. I recall seeing Tim Kelly, Georgi Tomisato, Meredith Hedrick, Erin Albright and a good many other faculty members there.”

 This year’s event was successful. “The walk went really well. The turnout was a lot better than we expected, especially since we had only five or six people registered prior to the morning of the walk.  Everything was very successful and I think all the people who came to the walk had a great time,” said Rabinovitz

 The walk is important for several reasons. “It gets the community involved with international crises and informs the public about Darfur,” said senior Bum Lee, another 2009 IB Diploma Candidate. “The walk is also important because it is a tradition that has been passed down between the graduating IB Diploma class for the last three years.  I feel it was important for the Diploma class of '09 to come together and plan the walk successfully so that we can pass it down to the class of 2010 to be done again next year,” added Rabinovitz.

 This year’s Walk for Darfur raised almost $1,000. “The money will be donated to the World Food Program and earmarked to be given specifically to refugees in Darfur. It will help to bring food and water to the displaced refugees,” said Rabinovitz. “In the long run, of course, the solution to the crisis needs to go beyond the immediate alleviation of suffering, to the development of a stable political arrangement for all the people of Sudan,” said John Hawes. 

The Walk was also attended by several IB Class of 2010 candidates, who will be hosting the event next year, and members of the STAND Club at AHS. The STAND club set up their own table with posters and posters about the conflict with the hope of informing people of what they can do to prevent situation from worsening," said STAND member Erica Dyer. After learning about the conflict, you could indulge in some refugee food, consisting of beans a rice.

"It's sold for $.30 a day at the refugee camps so it's a good source of protein but also pretty cheap," said Rabinovitz.

"It's actually not that bad, but I can't imagine eating it everyday," said sophomore Aya Ibrahim, a participant in the walk.

“If we talk to the candidates this year and learn from their mistakes, then we can definitely make next year’s Walk for Darfur more organized and publicized. I'm excited about the Walk next year,” said junior Christina Bui. This sentiment was reflected by the many other volunteers as well.