by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, May 22, 2026
Madeline Bride proudly shows off her artwork to her parents (not pictured). (Photos by Hannah Taylor)
The Harvard Public Schools hosted its annual Fine and Performing Arts Show on the evening of Wednesday, May 13, at the Hildreth Elementary School and the Bromfield School. Both campuses were transformed into vibrant showcases of student creativity.
The event, held from 5 to 7 p.m., featured visual art displays spanning kindergarten through high school, alongside live performances from the elementary school band, the debut of the fifth-grade chorus, Bromfield middle school chorus, the high school chorus, and a grand finale performance featuring singers from across the Bromfield School.
At the center of Bromfield’s visual arts presence was the National Art Honor Society (NAHS), a student-led organization whose members have spent the year not only creating artwork but actively building the school’s art community and extending their work into the town.
Bromfield’s chapter of the national organization is a club for students in grades 9 through 12 that recognizes artistic achievement, leadership, and service, while also welcoming students who simply want to create.
“At our school, [NAHS] functions as both an honor society and an art club,” said faculty advisor and Bromfield art teacher Elizabeth Hoorneman. “[A student] can either join it as a member, having met the necessary [prerequisites] and complete the service hours, or just come to the weekly meetings and enjoy doing art.”
That inclusive structure has helped the organization grow into one of its most active years yet, with more than 20 members tackling multiple large-scale creative projects. Among the most ambitious is a student-designed mural nearing completion in a Bromfield stairwell. According to NAHS student president, senior Faith Beckett, the mural was a response to what students saw as a growing lack of color in the school building.
Mutch Jiang and his mom, Jessica Jiang, admire a colorful array of paintings and drawings at the Bromfield art show.
According to Beckett, the administration painted over an old mural without soliciting input from the student body. “A lot of students were really mad about it because [the administration] had been getting rid of color in the school,” Beckett said in an interview with the Press. “They changed the floors from blue and yellow to gray. It just kind of makes it feel like a prison in here.”
The club decided to do something about it. Members submitted designs to administrators, advocated for approval, coordinated logistics, worked with custodial staff and the theater department for staging, and spent months painting after school, during free periods, on weekends, and whenever schedules allowed.
Senior McKenna Connolly’s design was selected for the project, which features a deep navy and periwinkle-blue backdrop layered with oversized abstract botanical shapes in bright coral, pink, green, yellow, white, and sky blue. Sweeping organic forms, curling vine-like elements, floating circles, and oversized flower petals bring visual elements to an otherwise gray and white stairwell.
“Our main goal was to add a pop of color to the school,” Connolly said. “We didn’t want it to feel too childish, but we wanted something that would make people happy.” For Beckett, the mural represents more than a beautification effort. “As a senior, it’s really nice to have one project done after a whole year,” she said. “It’s kind of our legacy.”
The club’s service-minded creativity extends beyond Bromfield’s walls. Another long-running NAHS initiative is a Zentangle coloring book featuring 36 student-created designs. Developed with support from a Harvard Schools Trust grant, the book is intended to promote mindfulness and stress reduction, with copies slated for distribution to children’s hospitals, nursing homes, and community members.
“Art can mean so many things to so many people,” said Hoorneman. “That was one of the avenues that we wanted to share, because it is a mindful piece, something that can help folks.”
Students are also completing a ceramic-tile border for an outdoor mural installation featuring flags from countries around the world. Additionally, some members recently partnered with community organizations, including the Harvard Public Library and the Harvard Schools Trust, to provide original artwork designed to help the organizations promote their events and brands.
Faculty members emphasized that while advisors provide support, the students drive the work. “They really run the club themselves,” said Hoorneman. “We’re just here in the background for support, for whatever they need, but they’re doing it all.”
Members of the Bromfield art honor society pose in front of a mural they created. From left: Lyla Kendrick, Eric Bilafer, Faith Beckett, Elaine Bretz, McKenna Connolly, Caroline Yang, Reval Argow-Sniderman, Leah Eidelman, and Grace Li. (Photo by Julie Gowel)
That message of creativity as expression, connection, and personal growth was echoed across the street by the elementary school students.
The art show at Hildreth had hallways transformed into galleries filled with student work, from kindergarten explorations of shape to fifth-grade watercolor paintings, whimsical sculptures of imagined homes, and stop-motion animation projects created through collaboration between art and library technology classes. The animation combines building with various materials such as Lego building bricks and cardboard in art class with filming and editing on school-provided iPads in technology class.
“The stop-motion project seems to be something that the kids really gravitate toward,” said HES art teacher Claudia Owens. “They’re learning from two different viewpoints, and then it all comes together.”
The evening also highlighted Hildreth’s growing performing arts offerings. Music teacher Mark Hecox conducted the fifth-grade band through selections including “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” while the newly launched fifth-grade chorus made its debut performance with songs including “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman.”
Hecox, who launched the elementary chorus this year, said the event provides an important opportunity for students to share months of work with the broader community. “I was extremely proud of them,” he said. “We had been working all year for this, and they did a very good job. I was proud the parents got to see the fruits of our labor.”
“A lot of hard work goes on in the art studio, and at school in general, that families never know about,” said Owens. “To have the opportunity to showcase the accomplishments at all levels and see the students take so much pride and joy in sharing their hard work is really fulfilling.”
“I think coordinating a district arts night is so important for the school community and for the community of Harvard to come together and celebrate creativity,” said Hecox.