Art Show Opens Next Tuesday at Norwalk High School

NORWALK, Conn. — Featuring pieces from students across disciplines and grade levels, the 2025 Norwalk High School Art Show will open next Tuesday, May 27. 

Members of the public are invited to attend opening night, which is free and will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the NHS library (23 Calvin Murphy Dr.), where the artwork will be on display. 

The art show—which features work from NHS and P-Tech students—will also be open for public viewing during school hours (7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.) from Tuesday, May 27, through Friday, May 30. 

“We are excited for the students because they get to really have an experience of putting their work on display and feeling proud of what they did throughout the year,” said Norwalk High School art teacher Lorena Sferlazza, coordinating the art show.

The artwork featured in the show “really spans all grade levels,” according to Sferlazza, “from Foundations of Art to AP art and everything in between, including sculpture, photography, painting, digital art, drawing, printmaking and graphic design.”

When it comes to how the art is selected, “we do give the opportunity to any student who wants to show work to have a piece in the show,” Sferlazza explained. “And each teacher selects with the students in their own classes which pieces they want to show.”

Student curators will help arrange and install the work. 

“I have a group of student curators who applied and are participating in arranging the work and installing the work in our library, so they have a little more responsibility to figure out how they want to display the art,” she added. “And they will also monitor the show when it’s happening.”

Fraternal twin sisters Jasmine and Ashley Diaz, both sophomores, are two of the student art show curators. 

“I am excited to see the beautiful works of art that were made by NHS art students,” said Ashley Diaz.

Jasmine Diaz said she is looking forward to “the uniqueness of each artwork, reflecting the talents of the various art classes here at Norwalk High. I also am looking forward to seeing the amazing 3D sculptures that will be there.” 

Junior Karizma Reyes said she is eagerly anticipating “curating and looking over everyone’s art. It’s so interesting to see the different styles and media used by my peers to showcase their art.”

The art show will occupy the first floor of the library in a space that’s “maybe the size of two or three large classrooms,” said Sferlazza, adding there will be art on display from “floor to ceiling.” 

Installation of the art show was scheduled to take place on Friday, May 23. “We do it the entire school day, and that’s pretty much all the time we have, because the library has been used for AP testing up until this point,” said Sferlazza. “So, we really won’t have access until that day.”

A section of the art show will be installed by AP art students, according to Sferlazza. 

“Every student will have their own section of a display board to show their work as a portfolio, and it’s nice for them to be featured as upperclassmen,” she said of the AP art students, who create 15 pieces of themed work throughout the school year under the direction of art teacher Donna Ellett.

Sferlazza, who is one of seven teachers in the NHS Art Department, called the art show “a team effort,” adding, “every teacher gets their own students’ art work prepared … cultivating the best work from all students and labeling the work. So, it’s definitely a team collaboration.”

At NHS, Sferlazza teaches sculpture, Peer Assisted Art, and Foundations of Art.

The other six teachers in the department are Ellett (AP Studio Art, Textile Arts, Foundations of Art), Lauren DeLong (printmaking, Honors Portfolio, Advanced Foundations), Lisa Larson (painting, drawing), Jenny Stevens (photography, Foundations of Art), Jada Hansen (Applied Arts, Foundations of Art) and Gabriella Licari (graphic design, Foundations of Art).

On opening night, guests will be able to snap selfies with props in a DIY photo booth and complete a scavenger hunt locating “different details in the artwork” for a chance to win a raffle prize.

The Norwalk High School Art Club will also be selling button pins for $1 to $3 each (depending on size and design). 

 “They are custom-made and hand-pressed by our students,” said Sferlazza.

Looking ahead to next week’s show, Sferlazza added, “I just love being able to support our students—they make amazing work and they deserve the chance to showcase that for the community.”