Our Instagram feed has been dominated by athletics photos and videos from Holderness Day, however, so much more has been happening over the past few days on campus. A celebration of the arts at Proctor with the Fall Term Art Show and Jazz/Rock and Band Recording Concert kicked off Holderness Weekend and tonight’s Innovation Night put culminating academic experiences on display for the community.
In a small community like ours, we assume we know each other and mistakenly tie an individual's identity to that which we see on a daily basis: their personality in the dorm, in the classroom, their smile as they walk to lunch or assembly, their athletic talents. We assume we understand and appreciate the entirety of each other's contribution to the Proctor community, and yet during this final week of the term, we are left with a powerful reminder of the depth of being that exists within our students as all facets of identities are celebrated.
Friday evening kicked off with the Fall Term Art Show in the Wilkins Meeting House. The diversity of mediums mirrored the spectrum of creativity on display - woodworking, oil on canvas, metalwork, ceramics, metal sculpture, charcoal sketches, furniture, textiles - everywhere you turned you were able to gaze through a window into the not-so-hidden talents of our students.
The crowds from the Art Show transitioned to the Wise Center for a combination performance bringing together the Jazz/Rock Ensemble and Band Recording activity. An absolutely packed Wise Center provided an electric atmosphere for this group of musicians to share their talents under the direction of Alyssa Costa and Scott King. Performances like Saturday night remind us that we must never take for granted the liberating confidence and form of self-expression the performing arts provide our students. Rewatch the Jazz/Rock performance below.
On Tuesday evening, we held our bi-annual Innovation Night in the Farrell Field House after a delicious Harvest Dinner (thank you Barb and team!). Innovation Night affords academic classes the opportunity to share research, presentations, engineering feats, business plans, and collaborative projects with the greater community. Students in Engineering, AP Environmental Science, Social Entrepreneurship, honors English, and Culture and Conflict classes shared their work with the community. Just like the arts, these public opportunities to share learning and passions enrich the Proctor community.
The last week of performances and academic open houses reminds us we all have talent deep inside us. It is up to us whether we insist on keeping it hidden or whether allow those around us to nurture, develop, and to draw it out of us. To each of our students involved in these culminating arts performances and Innovation Night, thank you for modeling what self-confidence looks like and for sharing your gifts with the greater community.
