Earlier this year, the State College Area School District Art Department was honored with the Outstanding Visual Arts Community 2024 Award. The Pennsylvania Art Education Association recognized the wonderful impact that this department has been providing to students for decades.
State High specifically, specializes in offering numerous different art courses that give students the opportunity to explore and express themselves.
Maure Irwin-Furmanek, an art teacher at State High who has been teaching in the district for over 27 years, provided insight to these options.
“Our comprehensive offerings include 2-D Art, 3-D Art, and Lens-based/Media Arts, allowing students to delve into various artistic disciplines and develop their creative talents across different mediums. With our extensive range of courses, students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a dynamic and multifaceted artistic education, fostering their growth and development as artists,” Irwin-Furmanek said.
Along with providing an amazing array of course selections, the department hopes to make every student feel welcome and positively influenced by art.
“We also want people to understand that the world of visual arts is for everyone- not just people who make art- so we would like our students to all feel like they belong there when they walk into a gallery or museum going forward in their lives. Of course, making your own art can be a mental health builder- both in the flow state of the process and the potential for self-expression,” department coordinator Danielle Crowe said.
The art department’s goals have not only been met but exceeded. Senior Fiona Hathaway has been in art classes all four years of high school and described these impacts.
“Not only has taking classes in the art department helped me grow my skill and technique in art, but they have given me a space to be creative and be surrounded by people who do the same. I have a space to be myself and express my creativity,” Hathaway said.
The State High Art Department also supervises a student art club, which Hathaway is a member of. “[Art club is] a space where we can create all together as a club to contribute to murals around the school and other projects that bring art to different corners of the school,” Hathaway said. The murals throughout the school encapsulate how the department not only influences the art students but also brings joy to others throughout the school.
Iwrin-Furmanek and Crowe both commented on the amazing support for the art department that has helped it grow in so many ways. “I think the biggest thing that sets SCASD art department apart from others is that we enjoy and appreciate a high level of support for our mission from the community of the district and town,” Crowe said.
Even though this award has only existed for five years, the SCASD art department has been strong and influential for a number of years. Iwrwin-Furmanek spoke for many when she said, “I truly believe that we could have won this award for many years.”
