“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
— Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise”
Hundreds of paper cranes dangled from the ceilings in the hallways of Providence Cristo Rey High School on Feb. 20, for the opening of the student art showcase “Still I Rise,” based on Maya Angelou’s famous poem. This was the 4th annual art showcase, with the first one being held in 2021.
Each crane was folded by a student or staff member who wrote something they overcame in life before folding the paper. There are 2,000 paper cranes.
“I basically wrote that I overcame just being in high school — getting that full experience of being in high school. Like, work outside, school sports and all that type of stuff,” said Keandre Wingo, 14. He is a freshman at Cristo Rey.
The showcase included five schools with artworks by over 75 students from different schools.
One of the sculptures, a rising phoenix titled, “Life from Death,” won the 2nd-place ribbon. The artist is Fatima Vazquez-Alvarez, 14. She is an 8th grader, her favorite class is math and she wants to study architecture some day.
Vazquez-Alvarez does not attend Cristo Rey, so she didn’t make a paper crane. She goes to Matchbook Learning, a predominantly Hispanic charter school. Providence Cristo Rey’s student body is mostly Hispanic and Black.
She said that what inspired her artwork is kind of embarrassing. “During 6th grade I had a phase where I read the ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians’ novel series, which are based on Greek mythology, and so I got a little into that.” In the novel, the phoenix bird dies and then rises from its ash.
Allison Dethlefs, director of admissions and marketing at Cristo Rey, organized the showcase.
“Since the contest began, we have been collaborating with middle schools around the city to promote it and encourage 5th-8th graders to attend,” Dethlefs said. “We typically communicate throughout the fall until the deadline for submissions and often visit participating schools to pick up their art submissions.”
That students were prompted to think deeply about things they’ve overcome, which means that many of the artworks feel personal. There’s art that shows emotional angst and some that addresses the political climate, depicting Mexican flags to reference mixed identities. A photo series shows students who wrote words on their skin, to show what really matters to them.
Antonio Tapia, 44, attended with his son, Kevin, who is in 8th grade at Cristo Rey. “I think it’s good that they are doing something good like art to get out of their routines,” he said in Spanish. Kevin didn’t make any artwork, so Tapia and his son were there to support other students. But Tapia said he would ask Kevin to participate next year.
Awards of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place were given to students in the middle school studio art category and a high school studio art category, with three honorable mentions.
The honorable mention in the middle school category is by 7th-grader Greyson Carrender, 13, who made a clay head with pipe cleaners for hair titled, “All in Your Head.” The artwork is not very literal about what it is rising from, but the face is very expressive.
“What inspired it was, how, when I’m feeling bad, I always have someone there to help me,” said Carrender, who worked on the sculpture with his art teacher, Ryan Davis, at Little Flower Catholic School. “And, I just thought, ‘Rise again,’ like, I always have people there to help me rise again.”
Although the showcase is for the students, some of the teachers and school staff also had artworks on display.
“We want our students to see and get to know our faculty and staff members as people and as role models,” said Dethlefs, “and to be inspired to share their own gifts and talents no matter what they grow up to do professionally.”
Like any other professional art show, attendees enjoyed finger food and refreshments. Student ambassadors and art club members volunteered as greeters, others at the refreshment tables, handing out cheesecake. “Students can apply each year to be ambassadors as a way to get leadership experience,” said Dethlefs.
The winners of each category received prizes: $50 for 1st place, $25 for 2nd and $20 for 3rd. Honorable mentions didn’t receive a monetary prize, but they did get bragging rights.
“It feels incredible. Honestly, to know that my art is being honored and liked by so many people?” said Carrender. “I mean, that’s really something special that just really makes me happy, you know?”
Jennifer Delgadillo is Mirror Indy’s arts and culture editor. You can reach her at jennifer.delgadillo@mirrorindy.org.
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