Dana Giles ’15: Despite students’ attempts to save the event, Artsfest for the 2012-2013 school year has been officially canceled. Artsfest is a festival meant to be held every year to celebrate different art forms provide a platform for EA’s artistically gifted students.
Geoff Wagg, Head of Upper School, confirmed the cancellation of Artsfest, saying, “The problem is that it’s not really an Artsfest, but more of a music festival, and unfortunately there is not a whole lot of faculty support. Unless we have some teachers who will help the students organize it, it’s not going to happen”.
The past disciplinary issues at Artsfest no doubt also contributed to its removal from this year’s calendar. Still, though, faculty members like Terry Meyer, who helped work on Artsfest last year, believe that “The actions of one, or five, or ten should not ruin it for the five hundred kids in the upper school. I think they cancelled it because of disciplinary issues…the headache might have just outweighed the good.”
Connor Boyle, who met with Wagg multiple times this year about bringing back Artsfest, added to Meyer’s opinion. “Although there have been a few instances of alarmingly poor behavior by some students during Artsfest, the fault really falls on those individuals.”
“Artsfest was always a great way to relax at the end of the school year. But above that, and more importantly, it’s important to showcase the talents of the community that very few get the chance to see. I’ve always been blown away by the amount of little-known talent that my peers possess.”
When asked why he thinks Artsfest lost so many of its supporters, Boyle explained that ”I think there’s a lack of support because planning and running it is a bit of an ordeal. It’s difficult to convince teachers that it’s worth giving up class time before exams for something as lighthearted as Artsfest.”
“Even though I don’t fault Artsfest for a student’s bad decisions, I think it’s understandable that a teacher wouldn’t want to put their neck on the line for an event where such extreme possibilities exist. That, coupled with missing classes, is the primary reason that it was hard to get a coherent, well-liked plan to faculty in a good enough amount of time this year.” He concluded in saying, “It’s certainly a complex issue, but I blame a lack of time and a lack of communication between student leadership as the reason we’re not having an Artsfest this year.”
The students who participated in Artsfest last year are most disappointed about the cancellation and feel that the decision was unjustified. Katherine Hong, IV form, expressed her frustration with the situation, saying, “It was just a few people that got it cancelled for everyone.”
Gianna Smith, IV form, added, “ I really liked Artsfest. I saw my classmates show a passion I didn’t know they had. I don’t think the majority of faculty supported it because it takes away from their individual class. Is it understandable? Yes. Is it fair? No.”
It appears, though, that even with the discipline issues of past events, the decision was also made due to the actual format of the festival. David Sigel, chair of visual arts and previous leader of Artsfest, did acknowledge, however, that there is room for improvement. “I would love to have Artsfest happen, but I just do not support its current structure. I would hope it could be more of a school-sponsored thing, instead of an indecisive thing between teachers who want it and teachers who don’t.
Unfortunately, due to the demanding task of improving this format and the inability to overcome any potential faculty opinion as to the event, Artsfest will be forced to sit until next year when it will perhaps be reconsidered.