Huntington High School’s Art Honor Society is once again making an international splash, creating and submitting thirteen beautiful portraits for children in Cameroon in Central Africa.
Art Honor Society members teamed up with the Memory Project, a charitable non-profit organization that encourages art teachers and their students to develop and donate portraits to youth around the world “who have faced substantial challenges, such as violence, disasters, extreme poverty, neglect and loss of parents,” states the group’s website.
“We want the portraits to help the children feel valued and important, to know that many people care about their well-being, and to act as meaningful pieces of personal history in the future,” according to the organization. “For the art students, we want this to be an opportunity to creatively practice kindness and global awareness.”
Participating in this year’s initiative were Huntington Art Honor Society members Vivienne LaVertu, Jazlyn Chapas-Oliva, Niurca Chabla-Leon, Christina Hornstein, Angelica Hernandez, Emma Guba, Talia Addeo, Grace Colavecchio, Charlotte Cheshire, Cecilia Kye, Grace Wildermuth, Erik Flores and Brianna Isaza.
“The Memory Project has been one of my favorite Art Honor Society projects to participate in every year,” Ms. Chapas-Oliva said. “The reason I decided to get involved in the Memory Project is because I love being able to use art as a way of helping children who are facing harsh challenges in life. These portraits can really make a positive change in these children’s lives. Knowing that someone took the time to create a portrait of them can make them feel cared for and bring more happiness into their lives.”
The Memory Project is an initiative that the Huntington High School teenagers will always remember. “This is something we’ve been involved in for a few years now,” said Jenna Rinaldi the Art Honor Society’s faculty advisor.
Ms. LaVertu participated in the project because it was outside her normal comfort and experience zone. “It was like a challenge to see how something outside the box for me would come out. I actually had no idea that these children were from different backgrounds until after I was done and I realized that I had done a better good by giving them a piece of artwork they would be more than grateful for.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation it has caused has been difficult on everyone, including Ms. LaVertu. “Doing art has always been both more therapeutic for my mental health and the closest thing I can get to an accomplishment that not only I can be proud of, but also others can be, too.”
This Art Honor Society is led by Niurca Chabla Leon (co-president), Ella Naima (co-president), Katie Browne (treasurer) and Eliza Walther (secretary). Gabby Miller and Jack O’Brien are handling public relations.
“When I was first informed about the memory project for Art Honor Society, it immediately caught my attention,” Ms. Addeo said. “I liked the idea of the project and was excited to have the opportunity to create a piece of art for a child overseas. This project also offered me the chance to practice drawing portraits, which is something that was completely out of my comfort zone. I’m quite proud of how my portrait came out and was happy to create something for someone else to enjoy.”
The Memory Project organization provided the Huntington Art Honor Society with color prints and digital copies of photos of children and teens from Cameroon. Portraits were then created by the Huntington teenagers.
“I really enjoyed participating in this project,” Ms. Kye said.” It meant a lot to me to be able to use art to bring some happiness into the lives of those less fortunate.”
Over the past 17 years, the Memory Project organization has spurred the creation of 180,000 portraits for children in 55 countries.
“I really enjoyed creating my Memory Project artwork,” Ms. Wildermuth said. “It was so much fun to make a colorful portrait and I think Cathy (the child who posed for the photo) will love it. The Memory Project is such a wonderful initiative. I think it’s really powerful to see yourself in a portrait and I hope the kids enjoy them.”
To view all of the portraits created by the Huntington High School student-artists, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MPryZguWRY
