The eighth annual Avon Old Farms School regional art exhibition opened on Thursday, April 23, highlighting art from middle and high school students from around central Connecticut.

The exhibition this year is titled “Stories Untold” and compiles multiple works from students at Avon Middle School, Avon High School, Bristow Middle School, Canton High School, Conard High School, Covenant Preparatory School, Ethel Walker School, Farmington High School, Hall High School, Kingswood Oxford School, Miss Porter’s School, Renbrook School, and Westminster School, as well as Avon Old Farms School.

Avon Old Farms Art Department Chair Cristina Pinton organizes the event each year. She says this year’s theme “Stories Untold” is meant to honor the creative energy and universal spark our young people carry and acknowledge the effort that goes into creating each piece. “It is about more than just the incredible talent on these walls; it’s a nod to the commitment we all share—as teachers, parents, and friends—to show up for these kids and keep arts programs thriving across the country,” Pinton says.

The exhibit opened with a reception on April 23, and will remain open for public viewing until Sunday, May 3. It is located in the Ordway Art Gallery in the Avon Old Farms Brown Student Center.

The opening night reception welcomed professors and administrators from the Hartford Art School, local art enthusiasts, and the featured students and their families. Dom’s Creamery provided ice cream and refreshments.  

For the local students featured in the exhibit, it was an opportunity to interact with other like-minded peers, and view inspirational works submitted from other schools. It was also a chance to receive praise for their work or tips for improvement.

Dharini Luthra, a ninth-grader at Conard High School, was impressed by what she saw. “The exhibit is beautiful. Every piece has its own personality. There are eight billion people in the world with eight billion different perspectives, and I think this show really captures that,” Luthra says.

Luthra had one of her paintings chosen for the exhibition, a still life depicting a few items sitting on her desk. Each item is illuminated by candlelight. The scene happened after Luthra took a long walk and came home to a dark house. “I tried to capture that memory.”

It was also Luthra’s first time working with oil painting, as she usually paints with acrylic materials. “It was my first time with this medium, so I was pleasantly surprised it got selected for this show. Oil painting was a frustrating process because it looks ugly for a long time before it becomes what you want. I wanted to quit and try again so many times, but it ended up being a really good piece,” Luthra says.

Bowen Lightner, an Avon Old Farms junior from Simsbury, created his piece as a gift for his mom. “I wanted to create something I could gift to her,” Lightner says. “She’s seen it and she loves it.”

His piece is a carved, wooden bowl that he created in his advanced woodworking class. “I decided to take multiple woodworking classes because it’s fun, hands-on, interesting, and it’s something not a lot of people get to do.”

He hopes his inclusion in the “Stories Untold” art exhibition will inspire others to take up the craft. “I hope people see it and decide to try their hand at woodworking or for the teachers who visit to maybe bring it to their school,” Lightner says.

For anyone interested in visiting the exhibit, it will be open for public viewing from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day until May 3. The exhibit is free of charge.