“WITHIN THE LIGHT TENT: A SELF- PORTRAIT”: This photo by Shana Mimnaugh ’17, will be a part of Princeton Day School’s upcoming exhibit, “Identity.” The student artwork explores the individual identities of the PDS community and will be on display from February 13 until March 8.

The Anne Reid ’72 Art Gallery at Princeton Day School is pleased to present an exhibit titled “Identity,” on view from February 13 to March 8. Entirely composed of work created by Princeton Day School students in all three divisions, the exhibit centers around individual identities and the diversity of the PDS community. The artists reception will take place on Thursday, February 16, from 12:30–1:30 p.m. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Curated by members of the PDS Gallery Club (led by co-heads junior Michelle Leung, junior Mary Schafer, and senior Abby Ling) in conjunction with the school division heads, “Identity” is the first exhibit at PDS to incorporate work by students from all three divisions of the school. The exhibit itself began from the brainstorming of the Gallery Club co-heads along with members of the club last school year. Michelle Leung ’18 noted, “The theme of ‘identity’ is purposely broad in order to open up many subject possibilities consisting of but not limited to culture, religion, politics, and race or ethnicity.” Submissions include a wide array of media; including painting, ceramics, and photography, as well as short pieces of writing.

“We work hard at PDS to create an environment that is inclusive to all and one that celebrates our entire student body. Visitors will have the opportunity to see how students of all ages express their individuality with youthful energy as they move toward the future,” says Jody Erdman, director of the gallery.

Some projects that will be on display in the exhibit include the following:

From the Lower School, second grade teachers Leah Anderson, Caroline Hare, and Susan Ferguson asked their students to photograph a part of their body with which they most identify and provide brief explanations about the photograph they chose. One student photographed his feet, which help him “walk and skate” while another student photographed his knuckles, which are “bumpy and strong, and the best part of me.”

From the Middle School, Math teacher Nicole Foster-Hinds worked with students to create fingerprint “drawings” that featured words about their lives inside of a 14-inch blow-up image of their fingerprints. These fingerprint images will be hung in the entrance of the school and in the Gallery.

From the Upper School, students in photography teacher Eileen Hohmuth-Lemonick’s class created books based on identity. These books range from exploring the photographers’ roots, to interviews and portraits of people who grow beards, to photo essays on same sex relationships or gender identification.

“Identity” is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday when the school is in session, and by appointment on weekends. For more information about the Anne Reid ‘72 Art Gallery, please call Jody Erdman, art gallery director, at (609) 924-6700 x 1772 or visit www.pds.org.

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