PAGE-TO-STAGE: Upper Schoolers perform scenes written by 5th
grade drama classes during 2025 ArtsFest.
Photo courtesy of EA Communications
This year, on Friday, April 24, students across the EA community got the opportunity to showcase all the amazing artwork they’ve worked on at this year’s annual ArtsFest. Afternoon classes were cancelled, and students from Pre-K through 12th grade, as well as families and friends, were invited to come walk around EA to enjoy events such as the Wearable Art Fashion Show, Jazz Jam Session, and improv exercises.
This tradition allows all individual art classes and clubs, whether visual or musical, to show off what they have created. The day provides an exciting opportunity for students to showcase their work and see the pieces their classmates have put so much time and effort into. Abby Whitman ’26, an active member in the arts, states, “I think it just celebrates what the students here can do, especially because this is such an academic and athletic school, that arts aren’t a huge part of who our school is and what our school identifies as… I think it’s a good way to bring it back in and show the community and the school that this is an important part of us.”
Walking across the Campus Green, attendees saw students in the Lower and Middle School get together to create art, whether that was drawing with sidewalk chalk around the green and in the Courtyard, or working on the group mural. Choral from Middle and Upper school performed pieces they have been rehearsing throughout the year. These, alongside more opportunities run by art teachers, are just a few of the beloved activities and showcases at EA’s Artsest.
When walking through the buildings on campus, the amount of hard work and creativity of Episcopal students put into the arts was evident. The Class of 1944 Chapel housed performances from the Orchestras, Jazz Ensembles, and Chamber Ensembles. The Upper School Film Festival, hosted by Chair of the Computer Science Department Matt Memmo, took place, where students got the opportunity to present films they’ve created throughout the year. This time provided much benefit to the students in computer science, as Memmo notes, “[ArtsFest] gives you this ability to kind of stand in front of people, and that’s a great communication skill…You’re putting your work out there as a student, and it’s ultimately, hopefully, very rewarding.”
In the Crawford Campus Center, multiple events were held in the Annenberg Library, the Gallery, and more. The Annenberg Library hosted Honors Acting, Improv Club, and the Wearable Art Fashion Show; these performances in the past few years have been some of the most popular among students, drawing large audiences. For the Wearable Art Fashion Show, students were encouraged to design fashion pieces out of recyclable materials, as Cyrian Foppa Tiankwa ’27 explains, “It’s like a recyclable arts fashion …using these materials that I would have never seen into, like a dress or something, I feel like, is really cool.” Senior Ryann Newcomb ’26, who has designed pieces in the fashion show multiple times, states, “My sophomore piece, I basically made a dress out of soda cans. … I did three looks, all that, all involved, soda cans, gum wrappers.”, highlighting the recycled materials students utilize.
The Arts Gallery on the second floor of the campus center hosted the Dora Khayatt Art Exhibition, displaying the artwork students entered into the contest, including the winning pieces. During this time, the Jazz Jam Session was held right outside the space, with both student and teacher performers.
ArtsFest is truly a time for students and teachers to express themselves through visual art and music. Even for students who don’t find themselves drawn to the arts in school, this day provides a time where they can enjoy all the work their peers have created, and get the chance to join together and make art!