For multiple decades, the Arts Unlimited program has promoted District 214 students to continue engaging in art. Visual art, photography, and written pieces are sent as submissions, which are then selected to be included in an anthology series, as a collection of all the artwork created this year by students.

A reception was held at Forest View on April 3, which included a room to view all the art accepted into the anthology. Afterward, a ceremony was held in the auditorium, where students were given certificates to celebrate their dedication to art. Going by school, they would be called to the stage, where they would then be given a certificate and thanked for their contribution.

Senior Graice Schiltz, whose artwork, titled Perception, is displayed on the front cover of the anthology booklet, talked about their experience leading up to being given their certificate.

“I had to stand on stage in front of everyone,” Schiltz said. “I forgot how to stand [because of the nerves].”

According to Schiltz, Perception is meant to represent the concept of perception, hence the name. While they were working on the piece, Schiltz felt the piece was “infinitely expansive” and described it as “naturally developing,” which they said made Perception more connected and free flowing, while not limiting their creativity.

“I started by just drawing a girl with a bunch of eyes [surrounding her],” Schiltz said. “I wanted to use that, so I decided to just expand [the piece] completely around that.”

During the Arts Unlimited reception and ceremony, visitors were greeted by music from a student-led band, as well as tables offering food. Posted on two-sided bulletin boards, each students’ artwork was proudly displayed among the rest of their peers’ creations.

Afterwards, everyone was called into the auditorium, where the awarding took place. Beyond the simple certificate, the Arlington Heights Art Guild also gave away $2,000 scholarships to three artists who they thought had exemplary work. In fact, the first place winner went to fellow Prospect student, Rhianna Tandy, and their painting, Another Me. 

After these awards, a performance led by each school would play, acting as an intermission before the next school would come up next. While many of these performances were bands, there were also much more unique choices, such as presentations on how a student artist went about making their pieces, as well as Buffalo Grove’s Acappella Ensemble.

Preceding the Prospect students’ awarding, the band that had the honor of playing was the Prospect Chamber, who played Serenade for Strings, by Tchaikovsky. 

Schiltz believes that the Arts Unlimited program is a great way to expand past having art be a simple hobby, and allows for students to be recognized for their hard work and dedication.

“I think that [Arts Unlimited] is such an amazing thing,” Schiltz said. “Supporting art is such a great thing to do… and it gives so many people the opportunity to have a creative outlet. It influences people to do what they want to do, and express themselves.