Friday, March 28, 2025
Artwork filled the hallways of the Woodmere Education Center as students showcased their best pieces at the Hewlett-Woodmere School District’s annual Gallery One Art Show.
For over a decade, Gallery One has celebrated student artwork, providing an opportunity for kindergarten through 12th grade students to display their creations throughout the education center.
The event also invites local private schools to participate, featuring their students’ artwork alongside the district’s displays.
Andrew Fund, the director of art and music for the school district, said he would like to continue to see this art gallery put on for years to come.
“It highlights the importance of the arts at Hewlett-Woodmere,” Fund said. “I think it is important for the students to have, and I would love to see it continued on for a longtime.”
The gallery was open to all community residents, allowing them to support the many students whose work was featured on Jan. 27. The event also included interactive art tables, where students could express their creativity using various painting and coloring materials.
Each year, Gallery One invites a professional in the field to come to the event, enjoy the work through the halls, and speak with the students about the industry and what goes into it.
This year’s featured guest was Dan Yaccarino, an author, illustrator, and television producer best known for his children’s books and award-winning imagery.
Yaccarino had his first book published in 1993 and has published over 100 books since. He also has done work in children’s television and illustration, creating the popular show “Oswald” on Nickelodeon, which ran from 2001 to 2003.
He visited all of the schools before the show and said that he wanted to provide the students with the opportunity to talk to a professional, without overwhelming them about the field.
“I did some visits today to all of the different schools, and my goal on these visits was to show the students how I got here,” Yaccarino said. “I wanted to show them the progression, even the second graders ask me how I get the picture in my head on the paper, I wanted them to know that I don’t have any magic powers or special talents, I just work really hard.”
Gallery One showed off to both families and faculty what the students have been able to do in each of their respective art classes. Ceramics, water-colored paintings, collages, and drawings from all age groups were put on display.
Emily Lutz-Machado, a Franklin Early Childhood Center art teacher, said that the gallery is important to show young students like hers, what is possible for them in the future with art.
“I think it’s really nice for them to have a visual representation of what’s going to go on throughout their art education years,” Lutz-Machado said. “Just seeing all the different art educators and all the students that come in here that have a passion for art, I think, is really enlightening for all of them.”
