For the first time ever, the Phaedrus committee sponsored their very own student art gallery on Thursday, May 31 by the fourth floor windows. And as with any first-time event, there were troubles along the way. But that didn’t stop the gallery from featuring prints, t-shirt designs, and fashion drawings.

Phaedrus is an art magazine at Parker devoted to sharing student artwork. This year the committee was led by seniors Talia Garg and Kaitlin Stansbury, and junior Jessie Cordwell.

The gallery’s creator,  Cordwell, made this event happen for a number of reasons. Cordwell said, “There are many pieces our students make, like sculptures and film, that we just can’t show off with the magazine.”

The event didn’t come easy. The gallery was scheduled for April 24, but on the 25th, the student body got an email from the committee stating that the gallery had been postponed.

There were three loose ends. As the event was getting closer and closer, Cordwell was getting emails from a majority of the artists telling her that their art wasn’t going to be done in time. Also, her budgeting source, Upper School Dean of Student Affairs, Christian Belizna, didn’t answer her emails asking him for money for the event.

The money Cordwell was seeking was for food. “I really want this to be official,” Cordwell said. “So the money Belizna hopefully will give for food is important to make this a real event.”

In addition to these two problems, there were three films that were registered, two by sophomore Arie King, and one by freshman Nathalie San Fratello. Both films required iPads that Cordwell couldn’t secure in time from the tech office.

Between April 24 and the new date, May 31, Cordwell and the artists got a lot done. First, Cordwell found Bielizna in person and confirmed the pizza money.  

Then she met up with the eight artists, some of whom were exhibiting up to three pieces, and asked about their readiness. They came up with the 31st.

Finally, she got the iPads and iPad stands from Tech Chair, Peter Evans.

The submitters recognize Cordwell’s efforts to show off all art forms at Parker. “I am excited to share my work in at the Gallery,” San Fratello said, “because I think it will be more appreciated in person.”

When finding participants to bring in work for the gallery, Cordwell noticed that a new group of artists had been attracted. She got three films, one of which was made by someone who previously didn’t submit to Phaedrus and now felt willing and able. Cordwell said, “Even having that one person be able to show themself off made me happy.”

The participants agree. “There are artists in our school whose art can only be experienced in person,” freshman Mikeal Watkins said, “and without giving those students an outlet to show their work, the representation is incomplete.”

Cordwell’s project to expand the presence of Phaedrus was worth it to her. “This is just one of Phaedrus’s many new attempts to make our work more seen, like stickers and a bulletin board,” she said.  “We just really want Phaedrus to be more known to the student body.”