Rogers Students Organize First Annual Arts Festival

The first annual Arts Festival took place this Saturday in the Rogers auditorium. The festival was the brainchild of seniors Tia Cromwell and Oskar Augustkowski and presented as their senior project, which is a requirement for graduation.

Cromwell and Augustkowski gathered and organized fellow students whose own senior projects revolved around the arts to participate in the on-site presentation. Zanovia Canale, a Rogers teacher and senior advisor, said she hopes the festival "will continue into the future."

"This is the first time, in regards to the Arts Festival, we have connected all individuals who had visual arts related projects," Canale said. "They had an opportunity to perform their projects. Part of senior project is choosing something that allows you to stretch, to get involved with something you may have never done before."

Twelve students showcased their senior projects, which included photography, jewelry, baked goods, clay sculpture, hand-thrown pottery and film.

 The film portion of the festival included a 40-minute narrative film noir as a senior project by Jake Sperling and Daniel Jackson. Students also showed four 15-minute short films in the category "Reconstructing the Fairytale," which were filmed last year as students' final assessment project for English class.

Cromwell said it was the film students who inspired her to take on the Arts Festival as her senior project.

Having seen the films last year, she said she was "blown away by how hard these students worked, taking months of their time to complete the project and no one got to see them except the other students in the class."

"I thought this would be a great opportunity for them to showcase their work, as well as other students with arts related projects," Cromwell said.

"It was tough to organize such a big event with just two people because this was the first," Augustkowski said. "We had to set the pace and the pressure of the technology was difficult, but we pulled through." Augustkowski will continue his filmmaking education after high school and said he hopes to attend Rhode Island School of Design in the fall.

On hand for the duration of the festival was Kari Best, Rogers' college advisor with the National College Advising Core. She has been with them all along, helping them with their presentations and on Saturday, "calming their nerves." "I helped them along the way, but they really took it upon themselves to do the work and I am very proud of them," she said.

In addition to the Arts Festival, Cromwell organized a consession stand and all proceeds will be given to "Building and Finding Homes For Homeless Teenagers in Rhode Island," which is part of fellow students