Earlier this spring, Rumsey Hall student artwork was featured at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens Gallery in Washington Depot as part of a local student art exhibition showcasing work from area schools. It was Rumsey’s first year participating in the show, which included student artists from schools such as The Frederick Gunn School, Shepaug, and Washington Montessori.
For Rumsey’s Arts Department, the invitation was about more than putting work on display. It was a chance for students to experience something most of them hadn’t before: seeing their art in a public space, with strangers stopping to look, ask questions, and respond to what they’d made.
Each school submitted 12 pieces. Rumsey’s selections spanned Grades 7–9 and included mixed media, printmaking, small metalworking, and three-dimensional work. Fine Arts Department Chair Cassie Rydingsword chose pieces that captured the range of what students make in the program, with a particular eye toward ninth graders who’ve opted into additional studio time.
For those students, the show came at a fitting moment. It’s their last year at Rumsey, and the extra time in the studio has given them room to develop their own artistic voice, to take chances, make real choices, and start seeing themselves as artists rather than just students.
“Not many students have the opportunity,” Ms. Rydingsword said. “Some of them have never been to a gallery before. So to see a gallery space, and then for their piece to be one of them hanging, and watching the public walk around and admire and ask questions about what they’ve worked on.”
I think it gives us more of a sense of purpose. It feels good to be recognized.” – Ms. Rydingsword
The pieces on display reflected that spirit. Among them: a felted mixed-media portrait inspired by a student’s own photo of her dog and a three-dimensional collage built around a love of music. Small glimpses, but telling ones, into the creative work happening in Rumsey’s visual arts classrooms.
Several students attended the opening reception, where they could take in their work alongside pieces from other young artists in the region. Standing in that space, seeing how their work looked on a gallery wall, watching people engage with it, turned what could have been a simple display into something meaningful. “It felt like a celebration of their work,” Ms. Rydingsword added.
It’s a good reminder of what the arts do at Rumsey: building artistic skill, but also building the kind of confidence that comes from putting something you made into the world and watching it land.
Students featured in the art show: Esme F. ’26, Quanren F. ’26, Phoebe G. ’27, Vivienne H. ’28, Peter J. ’26, Iris L. ’26, Hunter M. ’27, Riley O. ’27, Joanna S. ’27, Nana S. ’26, Zoran W. ’26, Lina Y. ’26
Students' Art Pieces
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