Kalamazoo Times

The Comstock Public Schools District inaugural art award show, dubbed the Joe & Joyce VanBruggen Art Show, drew an estimated 500 to 600 people on April 27.  

Superintendent Jeffrey Thoenes said the vision for the show started to really take place roughly a year ago.

“We met last year in May as a committee and started dreaming, really envisioning what this day or evening or a celebration of the visual and performing arts might be like,” he said. “We printed 500 programs, and I have to admit, I said to Jason Hall, ‘that's way too many.’ We had, I think 16 [programs] left after the evening. So we know we were between 500 to 600 attendees.”

The art show featured painting, drawing, 3D art, sculptures, music and dancing. Local artists judged students who submitted entries.

Thoenes was pleased to be able to celebrate all the student winners at a recent board meeting, handing out certificates, cash prizes and tokens of their achievement.

“To be honest, it exceeded my wildest expectations for how it might be,” he said. “Arguably, pre-K through 12, it was the single largest event the school sponsored in the entire school year.”

The art show chose “Best in Show” winners from each of six schools and an overall district-wide grand prize of best overall, which came with a $100 prize.

The individual school winners for best in show were: Aniylah Williams (CELA, GSRP Pre-K), Imani Dougherty (elementary, 2nd Grade), Matilda Ludtke (STEM Academy, 7th Grade), Kianna O'Dell (middle school, 6th Grade), Hailey Null (high School, 11th Grade) and Brooklyn Nuyen (Compass High School, 10th Grade).

The “Best Overall” winner was Ava Dalton, an 11th grader at Comstock High School.