Heritage students in AP Art classes visited two prominent art fairs, Design Miami and Art Miami, where they enjoyed a special event hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Dec. 7. The trip was organized with the help of SCAD and teachers Mr. Jonathan Reid, Mrs. Cecilia Case, Mrs. Alexandra Cook and Ms. Andrea Preston.
“With this trip, I want students to know that there is a huge art market that is thriving full of living contemporary artists who are making a good living by doing creative work and exhibiting and selling,” Preston said.
Fine Arts Co-Chairmen Jonathan Reid, who teaches Heritage’s architecture classes, explained the impact the trip had on his students. “It was an enriching experience for everyone. My architecture students got to step into various unique interior design setups and learn about the artists that created them and their process,” he said.
Other students, such as senior and co-president of the National Art Honor Society Myron Murmanov, fell in love with the professional works of photography, and other various media, displayed. “The visit definitely made me want to continue exploring art,” Murmanov said. “It made me realize that I want to dedicate my free time to photography.”
Fellow co-president senior Isabel Walchi, agreed. “The trip was amazing. I loved getting an opportunity to see art and design in person, especially because in my previous art classes, I have looked into these pieces for my assignments,” she said.
Of all the sites they visited, most students agreed their favorite was the second exhibit, Context Art Miami.
“It had a lot more art that was more of my style,” Walchi said. “There were a lot of excellent floral pieces which helped me think of new ideas for my photography and my painting,” she said.
Junior Cristina Escardo agreed. “The exhibit, in particular, had a wonderful mix of famous artists from around 1950-1990 and more contemporary artists. It was not as interactive as the first site, but in a way, it felt much more immersive because the art surrounded us,” she said.
Preston explained how significant it was that the students got to take a trip to Miami Art Basel, which is popular internationally. “The fact that this exhibit is in Miami is so important because we have access to this in our vicinity,” she said. “A lot of people have to fly from all over the world to get hotels, so we have the luxury of being close.
By the end of the trip, the students were able to see all the different genres of art and their price ranges to get an idea on the type of media they like and its place in the art world.
“I was considering career choices in an artistic field after this trip. The first location we visited featured many furniture and advertisement designs for large companies,” Escardo said. “It was interesting to see how artistic vision makes its way into product design.”
