This month, Trinity will announce the first recipient of the new Artist of the Week award. All students involved in the fine arts program are eligible to receive the award. This includes all branches of the fine arts: music (vocal, orchestra, band), theater, dance, visual arts (2D, 3D, photography), forensics and creative writing.
For Athlete of the Week, coaches nominate one of their athletes who performed especially well during the previous week’s games and practices to be recognized in assembly and receive a T-shirt. However, Artist of the Week will function differently. Teachers will have the opportunity to acknowledge students for exceptional performance at any time, not just once a week in assembly.
“We will recognize remarkable achievements when they happen,” fine art department chair Janine Papin said. “Because of that, the teachers will not rotate giving the award but will be able to present the award to a student when the opportunity arises.”
A student is eligible for the award if they meets the following criteria: The Artist of the week recognizes a Trinity Prep arts student who has demonstrated exceptional aptitude or achievement in Fine Arts, either in the classroom, in school performance, or in outside competition or performance, and meets a criteria for What It Means to Be a Saint.
But why hasn’t Trinity had Artist of the Week all along, and what makes this year different?
“We have actually talked about it for years, but this year, with a push from the current leadership of Patrons of the Arts, we got it done,” Papin said.
Artist of the Week was finally confirmed and launched when the Patrons of the Arts underwrote the purchase of the shirts for this year. Patrons of the Arts is a parent organization that supports Trinity’s fine arts financially and by providing volunteers for their many events.
Although the first recipient will not be announced until February, the fine arts department soon plans to present an explanation video during virtual all-school assembly.
Unlike Athlete of the Week, the Artist of the Week’s T-shirt design will feature a creative design. The T-shirt consists of symbols from each department with a fleur de lis in the center.
Each recipient of Artist of the Week will receive a T-Shirt which includes symbols from each fine arts department with a fleur de lis in the center. This distinctive design was created by senior and AP 3-D Art student Emily Wilhelm.
During the Fall semester, fine arts teacher Irina Ashcraft challenged her students in every class to draw a design for the T-shirts. The fine arts teachers, as well as the board members of the Patrons of the Arts, reviewed the student submissions and selected their favorite.
“It makes sense that the design should come from one of our student artists,” Papin said.
Virtually or in-person, Trinity assemblies will now feature the finally instated Artist of the Week awards as a way to recognize deserving student artists.
“I feel like the amount of work that is put into creative outlets sometimes goes unnoticed,” said senior and AP art student Hayden Lehr. “We [Trinity] are so focused on athletics or academics that we don’t realize that other students are focusing their talents on something more creative.”
