On Friday April 26, Wauconda high school hosted the annual NLCC art festival, which celebrates student art across all different mediums including painting, water colors, pottery, music and much more.

The event showcased art from schools all across Lake County including: Antioch, Grant, Grayslake North, Lakes, North Chicago, Round Lake, and Wauconda.

At the festival, participating schools submit some of their best student artwork. Each school’s art teacher is then assigned a different school to judge, and each school is then awarded ten awards for excellence.

The students who won awards are as follows: Gillian Agnew for mixed media, Calvin Bloede for ink work, Jade Collins for oil painting, Juliana Infante for graphic design, Joselind Manzano for digital painting, Leah Minsky for oil painting, Cate Nelson for collage, Elliot O’Rourke for mixed media, Christine Sullivan for watercolor, and Katilin Saul for their ceramics.

“It’s kind of like a celebration. It’s just a showcase, … students from [another] school [will play] jazz in the background…They’re going to have coffee, refreshments and cookies…So it’s kind of like a gallery opening.” said Kay Silva art teacher at GCHS.

Each school is allowed to bring seven students who, on the day of the festival, get to participate in workshops and presentations from other artists. “So it’s a whole day for them to experience other artists from other schools and do workshops. So it’s a fun day for these kids,” said Silva.

The students that went to the festival come from all different backgrounds in terms of the mediums of art they produce. “I will say one that I really haven’t done that much is abstract. But I mean, I’ve done watercolors, acrylics, oils, […] ceramics, throwing pottery on a wheel, metal, soldering, inks,” said senior Audra Braun.

Some students even experiment outside the idea of traditional art and instead work in the art of music. “When it comes to art I’m more musically inclined. That’s basically art. [I’ve been doing] that for around four years,” said Ryan Champakara a senior at GCHS.

Overall, the NLCC art festival is a celebration of student art across all different mediums, inviting students from all different experience levels to show of their works, meet new artists, and maybe even win an award.