On Friday, January 21st, Central’s Music Director, Branden Martinez, and Art Teacher, Kari Adams, hosted the collaboration of the annual Art Gala and the first Open Mic Night of 2025 in the school’s basement. This time, however, the audience got to see the once-in-a-lifetime event, a blend of sound and vision.
Each year, before stepping into Christmas break, student-artists eagerly take on a challenge where they dedicate themselves to multiple artistic pursuits for 24 hours straight. Whether it is water-color painting, sculpting, or creating wearable arts like sewing and jewelry making, these artists spend many hours perfecting their craft. For the past several years, since this challenge began at Central, artwork made by students has been presented to the eyes of families and guests in the form of a silent auction at Craft Local. This year, however, Craft Local was unfortunately closed during December, when Central’s Art department intended to hold its most significant event. Therefore, the 2024-2025 24-Hour Art Challenge was held at Central this time, in conjunction with the Music Department’s Open Mic Night.
The showcase began an hour after the guests arrived to view the displayed artworks and take part in the silent auction. Senior, Halle Anderson, started off with Good Kid by Chris McCarell, followed by My Grand Plan by Rob Kicki. Vivian Hastings, a sophomore, a chorister, and also a member who has taken part in the past Open Mics, sang Cups by Pitch Perfect as a solo. Then, together with senior, Ellis Tillery, brought back the ‘La La Land’ vibe through City of Stars by Justin Hurwitz (sang by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone). After the duet, Bantha Fodder – Central’s phenomenal rock band, consisting of the school’s Film and U.S History teacher, Shane Fairbanks, junior, Ella Fairbanks, sophomores, Joshua Strydom and Caiden Hernandez, performed several songs including tonight’s the night i die to a frank ocean song by Hannah Bahng, Aberdeen by Cage the Elephant, Vanilla by Flipturn, and Iris by Goo Goo Dolls.
As the audience enjoyed the musical performances, they explored the displayed artworks, naturally providing an interlude for both performers and viewers, ultimately enhancing the impact on their art experience. Art and music are woven into Central’s student life, found in every corner of the building. Harper Downing, a freshman who participated in the 24-Hour Art Challenge for her first time, had a successful Art Gala start-off. Downing is one of the splendid examples of Central’s student-artists who gathers pieces of her personality and translates them into visible presentations. Downing’s work includes “The Clock” – a combination of abstract literature and practical reality, her favorite piece, “The Mona Lisa Rat”, and mushroom paintings on cards that reflect the uniqueness, out-of-the-box ideas at the Art Gala. While discussing these artworks, she shared, “I like to make weird, kind of random collage art… and I wrote these different quotes from movies and books that I got inspired (on Pinterest) on the side.” Being a full-time violinist and also being dedicated to swimming, it is hard to imagine Downing’s workload.
“Do not put so much pressure on yourself and enjoy the process of creating. When you do art like that (and be like) ‘Oh my gosh, this has to be perfect,’ it probably won’t come out very well,” stated Downing, whom art has “always been a part of [her] life”, regardless of any challenging situations. Even though she has done art from an early age and is aiming to become a skillful art creator, Downing first came to this hobby the same as anyone who is a beginner. “I don’t really take art class, (but) I want to,” said the student-artist. “I do watch a lot of YouTube tutorials, that kind of helps me a lot,” she continued. Downing believes that using any spare time, whether watching tutorials or practicing color blending, is the key to improving skills while trusting the process. In high school, students must prioritize their academics and keeping up with what needs to be done; therefore, free time can be hard to find or use wisely. Thanks to the 24-Hour Art Challenge, student-artists can now get a full day to immerse themselves in creativity and express the “artist” within them.
Having run these events for the past five years, Central’s current art teacher, Kari Adams, stated, “If you looked back to the early Christian Church, art was how they did storytelling.” She continued, “You can go in and sit in the chapel and look at a sculpture of Jesus on the crucifix — it’s art that helps us to reflect and contemplate.” Rosaries are also faith-based art, according to Adams, they are, “handheld, wearable art that’s a way for us to visually express our love and adoration for Mary.” Art in general, is as Adams emphasized, “A way that God has given us that talent to connect our faith, to connect others… when words don’t suffice.”
Freshman Preston Bernstein posing in front of his artwork during the art gala and open mic night. (Isabel Glaser)
The 24- Hour Art Challenge offers student-artists opportunities not just to discover themselves in the artistic field, but also to help other artists find their answers to the meaning of art. “I get to stand back, and for once, not really be teacher, but just an artist mentor and help everyone. Other artists get to do the same thing to their peers, which is amazing,” said the art teacher who has given this wonderful opportunity to Central’s students.
As Central’s art teacher implied, art can be delivered under various forms. This idea resonates deeply with students like Vivian Hastings, who highlighted her creativity at the Art Gala, not just on canvas, but also through hand-painted resin jewelry. If that were not enough, she also took the stage at Open Mic Night, where Hastings has referred to as her “second home” and confidently captivates the audience with all her performances. Reflecting on her artworks for the Art Gala, Hastings expresses, “I’m super proud of the fish painting I made and my resin earrings, because they are fun and functional.” While reflecting on that, Hastings wants to be thankful to the people who supported her along the way, “I also appreciate the time with my good friends that are seniors getting to spend precious time with them before they leave.” Highlighting the purpose of Open Mic Night, Central’s music director, Branden Martinez, encourages students to “explore your gifts”. He offers insight from his three years of running this musical event by stating, “You’re not going to get better at music unless you do it.”
As the night neared its’ finale, Death by Robots, another of Central’s band, featuring Shane Fairbanks, Branden Martinez, freshmen English teacher, Nick Mack (on vocal), and guitarist Matt Coffrin, brought back the liveliness into the basement through a dynamic setlist of rock and funk classics, including pieces like Otherside, Californication, and The Zephyr Song by Red Hot Chili Peppers. They also sang What I Got and Santeria by Sublime, AC/DC’s iconic You Shook Me All Night Long, and many more songs such as Offspring, Jimmy Eat World, and Eric Clapton.
This unforgettable evening associated with fusion between sound and vision highlighted the impressive diversity of Central’s student-artists’s creativity and how it can be expressed in many forms. Contributing to the event, Downing and Hastings both agreed that the collaboration between these two events isn’t just a meaningful ‘playground’ for students to explore and enhance their ambitions in art, but also “showcase the full range of what the arts can do, and bring the music-art departments and the whole community together,” stated Hastings the sophomore.
