The Arts Council at Concord Academy consists of 6 students chosen by faculty members from the Performing and Visual arts departments, and members of the current year’s council. The 2022-2023 Arts Council will consist of 3 juniors and 3 seniors. The council seeks to bring student artists and art activists together from all disciplines to enhance and strengthen the community experience of the arts at CA. They work alongside the Performing and Visual arts departments to promote artistic opportunities throughout the school. They also help juniors, who are looking to specialize in Performing/Visual Arts, build a portfolio for college.
Cozette Weng ’23, a returning member to the Arts Council said, “There has been a bit of a blind spot in CA’s Arts game for a while. Everything from finding good fit schools for the Performing Arts to making recordings can be a beast. Meanwhile, Performing Arts juniors and seniors were struggling to obtain advice from CA’s expansive (and often outsourced) PA department.” Weng mentioned that her favorite part of being on the Arts Council this past year was being able to provide juniors looking to specialize in the PA’s with resources. Specifically, senior members of the Arts Council shared their experience during a Performing Arts College info session for rising seniors and juniors last spring. With more and more students looking to explore the Arts in college, Weng is glad that future Performing Arts students have an easier path to walk along.
When asked about the differences the 2022-2023 Arts Council will make, Weng said, “The Arts Council is an extremely student-driven group. Many new changes that will be implemented will be up to its new members.” She’s expecting more interest in the intersection between the arts and technology. One goal of Weng’s for the Arts Council is to celebrate the arts outside of CA’s formal courses. Students who are creating art outside of CA’s Arts course offerings don’t have the opportunity to showcase their work. “The issue came up early last fall but I’m afraid we’ve done quite little about it. Students have been able to send links of their work to the All school FYI or share art on social media platforms, but it’s always been up to the artists to promote their work,” said Weng, “ There’s lots of untapped potential, people are already creating, and we’re just not seeing it.” A solution that Weng has is running an open-submission show later in the year. She mentioned that many Arts faculty would be excited and willing to help out. Regardless, Weng is excited to see what the 2022-2023 school year has in store for the Arts Council.