The Fine Arts Night at Osborne High School is quickly becoming an anticipated tradition. Now in its fourth year of in-person presentations, the 2024 event set the bar high and provided a fun and informative evening for students, parents, and community members. Osborne's nearly one dozen elementary and middle schools were also invited to present their student's artwork at the outer space-themed exhibition.

"I started this event in 2019. It was a small art showcase in our media center," said Ariana Tucker, an art teacher at Osborne and the organizer of the annual event. "It was online during COVID, and at that time, we had a new building built, along with a great new Performing Arts space. We returned to in-person in 2022, and expanded performances as well as inviting our elementary and middle school programs." 

The number of exhibits and music and theatre performances available at the event is impressive. Three hours is hardly enough time to take it all in. In addition to multiple hallways filled top to bottom with drawings, paintings, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, and graphic arts, the courtyard and the Performing Arts Center (PAC) were buzzing with lots of activity and music. Face-painting, rock painting, parades, fashion shows, live portrait drawing, and the famous Osborne Jazz Band kept the courtyard busy, while OHS theatre students and the Orchestra and Chorus made the PAC a continual entertainment destination.

"I received great feedback from parents and staff that were in attendance," Ms. Tucker said after the event. "I gauge the turnout success by the number of kids I see and the number of staff that choose to return to school that evening. Both numbers were very high!"

Ms. Tucker also made an interesting observation emphasizing the importance of fine arts in the school curriculum and students' overall education.

"Athletics are important in developing students, but I think the arts are also critical in developing well-rounded, thoughtful, cultured citizens. We rarely have an opportunity to celebrate art events and students in the same way we do athletic events and athletes. This is our playoffs, so to speak," she said thoughtfully.

The Fine Arts Night is a collaborative effort between Osborne, the feeder schools, and many different Cobb Schools students and staff. In addition to delivering all of the artwork to the school to display, many of the exhibits are team efforts involving students of all ages. 

"The UFO-themed entry to the exhibit was a collaboration between Osborne art students and elementary and middle school students. We made the UFO, Smitha students made the rocket, Birney students made the stars, Hollydale students made part of the galaxy backdrop, and Floyd students made the aliens. I usually come up with a theme for the event in the very early stages and share it with our art feeders. Then they come up with items to contribute to the entryway," explained Ms. Tucker about the elaborate welcome artwork.

There were collaborations behind the scenes as well. Micah Roland managed the choral presentations, Anthony Avitollo, the orchestra, and Yaureybo Jordan and Retina Gray handled the theatre performances. They did excellent work setting the stage and communicating with the elementary and middle school performing arts teachers to meet their needs and made the entire evening in the PAC a seamless operation. 

The courtyard production was managed by band directors Edwin Victor and Isaac Wimberly and graphic design teacher Natalie Fenton. They coordinated and provided the entertainment and collaborated with Ms. Tucker for the Fashion Show and the Space Head Parade. The OHS Art Department worked with the theatre on set designs, and all four Visual Arts teachers (Phyllis Fulp, Masako Richey, Tara Hemelgarn, and Ms. Tucker) organized and managed specific areas and supervised students working in and decorating those spaces.

Post 2 Board Member Becky Sayler was onsite and impressed by all there was to see and do. "It's amazing! I really loved seeing the live portraits going on. There's so much talent on display, and it's great to see the community coming out to celebrate the students' achievements," Ms. Sayler said with a smile.

"As our students and community become more familiar with this festival, they return each year, and it grows. Our students have little siblings that come and teachers bring their children and spouses. It's truly become a family and community event," Ms. Tucker said.

Planning for next year's Arts Night will be in the works soon, as an event of this size takes 6-9 months of preparation to come together. The Art Department makes items to sell during the holidays and Valentine’s Day to fundraise for the event, in addition to receiving community donations. Please mark your calendar for 2025 Fine Arts Night now and come out to Osborne's fun celebration of its students and their out-of-this-world artistic talents and abilities.