On January 9, 2026, Concord Academy opened the Fall Art Show in the CAC gallery. Featuring student artwork from fall semester courses in painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber arts, and photography, the exhibition celebrates a fantastic semester of art that visual arts students have created. It is a great moment for the entire community to come together, providing young artists with the opportunity to share their talents and learn from one another.
Works from the ceramics courses highlight the different stages of the ceramics-making process. Beginner classes focus on abstract sculpture, encouraging students to think abstractly and develop a three-dimensional construction mindset. On the other hand, advanced classes feature bowls and sculpted faces that demonstrate technical proficiency on the wheel, emphasizing students’ growth in control and their ability to translate a creative vision into finished products.
Pieces from the drawing courses showcase a wide range of media, techniques, and personal expression. From still-life sketches to large-scale mixed media projects, the self-selected pieces reflect students’ development in their approaches to mark-marking, composition, and perspective.
Fiber art pieces consist of final projects from three different courses: Working with Fibers, Fashion Illustration, and Production Design. In Working with Fibers, students integrated at least three fiber techniques, such as kinusaiga, saishiko, embroidery, quilting, and yarn painting, into a single project. Works from Fashion Illustration focused on conceptualizing fashion collections inspired by a chosen fantasy, while the Production Design class collaborated with (Re-)Writing American History Through Musicals to create three-dimensional scale models for two scenes from the theatrical production.
Although the process of creation is often independent and limited to small group discussions among classmates, the art show allows artists to connect with a wider audience, exchange feedback, and reflect on their artistic growth. Visual Arts Department Head and Film Teacher Justin Bull P'25 '28 explained, “I love watching students' faces when they pull their friends to show them their work, or when they pull their friend who made the work to celebrate the work that they made. There's a lot of genuine enthusiasm here.”
Different from past years, this is the first time the Visual Arts Department has hosted the Fall Art Show through the CAC, using hallway spaces while the Digital Production Lab & P3 is occupied. The show will remain on until the opening of the Spring Art Show, a new approach the department hopes to continue in future years. This setup provides the CA community with more opportunities to explore and appreciate students’ artwork. Performing Arts Department Manager and Fiber Arts Teacher Jessica Clourtier-Plasse remarked, “The art show is a celebration of process, a showcase of work that hopefully inspired the entire community…I hope the work is speaking to their audience, and the art show is the vehicle to put it out there and see how that works.”
Overall, the Fall Art Show not only highlights the creativity and artistic abilities of CA students, but also strengthens the sense of community through our shared appreciation of art.