Each year the Parents’ Association grants Upper School students fellowships to spend the summer exploring an aspect of the visual arts that intrigues them. And each year, students embrace the opportunity, taking classes and working with accomplished artists on projects ranging from architecture to animation, photography, and painting.

The 2026 Visual Arts Fellows shared their work and the lessons they learned at an opening reception in October. Their work will remain on exhibit in the Parents’ Association on the Lower Level of Marriott Hall until Thanksgiving.

Noah Bajoghli ’29 took a lesson with a veteran photographer and then photographed embassies on Massachusetts Avenue, emphasizing the similarities and differences between the design of the embassy and its country’s native style. Said Bajoghli: “Half the embassies I captured had a correlation to their country through architectural design, which enabled me to feel as if I was in the country itself. The other half of the embassies had no correlation to their country through design, but did share common architectural themes found all over embassies in Washington, D.C.”

Zachary Cohen ’28 and Jacob Menkes ’28 studied with a local photographer in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, where they learned techniques for photographing large outdoor sculptures. They then traveled to the Basque country of France and Spain, where the countryside and coast are dotted with monumental abstract sculptures. There they worked with a photojournalist-turned-artist and spent time at a foundry.

JG Connell ’28 took a three-day class by Walt Bartman at the Yellow Barn Studio on plein air painting at Tilghman Island. “In the mornings, we had lectures about line drawing, warm and cool colors, Notans, and seeing color. Then, during the afternoon, we would paint around the island at spots of our choosing,” wrote Connell. “I plan to use these new skills to … paint with my eyes more and not as much with my mind.”

Marco Gutierrez ’27 took an online architecture course with the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, where he learned how to create detailed, scaled physical and digital models and practiced using Rhino, Illustrator, and other software to create detailed plans, elevations, and sections.

William Nikodem ’29 studied 3D character animation at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Working with industry professionals, Nikodem learned how to use the program, Autodesk Maya to animate a bouncing ball and, for his final project, create a figure making a 360-degree kick.

Derin Olawunmi ’29 documented America’s 250th anniversary through photography. “What began as an opportunity to photograph historic celebrations became a deeply personal experience that allowed me to document the people, places, architecture, performances, aircraft, ships, fireworks, and unexpected moments that made America 250 come alive,” wrote Olawunmi.

Smith Spivey ’29 studied urban and nature photography in Kenya and Portugal and on the Chesapeake Bay. About his photos he said: “Every photo is meant to transport you to the moment it was taken so that you can also experience the moments from this summer when I was in awe of the beauty of our earth.”

William Stifel ’28 documented Maryland’s Eastern Shore salt marshes through scientific observation and technical photography, which he used to explore the fragile transition between farmland and wetland, from spartina grasses to migratory waterfowl.

James Van Konynenburg ’29 traveled to the Detroit institute of art to see Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals, which were created to celebrate the golden age of Detroit and show how technology could affect humanity. “After I studied Rivera’s techniques and symbolism, I began drafting my own art about the future with artificial intelligence,” said Van Konynenburg. “For my final project, I made a miniature mural in a notebook where there are different territories, each controlled by a different AI that only wants to prevail over the others.”

Ted Wang ’28 spent the summer improving his drawing skills by practicing every day. At first, Wang was frustrated as he compared what he described as his “mediocre sketches” to work he saw on social media. But his dissatisfaction soon transformed into motivation to improve. “Forcing myself to practice even just for five minutes each day meant that long term improvement was practically inevitable,” said Wang, who was gratified by the results of this work. “If you told me one year ago that I’d be drawing like this in just a year, I probably would have laughed in your face!”

 

Thank you to the Parents’ Association for supporting the work of our artists.