This year, McAuliffe Middle School’s Art Gallery will have a sign hung up above its glass display case with the phrase “Dla Ludzi,” pronounced “d-luh loo-gee.” Art students will also get to have some of their artwork exhibited in the gallery throughout the year. Additionally, McAuliffe’s gallery will be renamed the “Dla Ludzi” Gallery, after the sign.

This sign has an extensive history and background, especially with Katia Swihart, the art teacher at McAuliffe. The sign was cast in aluminum and used at a mobile gallery run by Swihart at California State University, Long Beach. There, art students could have their artwork showcased for free. The gallery stood on wheels and was roughly the size of a standard telephone booth. Due to its small size, viewers would have a close relationship with the artwork displayed in the gallery.

Now, Swihart wishes to bring the fun spirit of art to our school by featuring pieces from McAuliffe art students in Art ⅞ and Advanced Art classes. The pieces featured in the Dla Ludzi Gallery will concentrate on fundamental elements and principles of art, such as the pumpkin project centered around repetition in art. Art student Chelsia Campos expressed a preference for balance and symmetry in art relating to elements like form, line and shape. However, the element that stood out the most to student Sofia Alvarez was color, for its ability to express different moods and feelings in art. Campos commented about the effect the art could have on the students, claiming that the gallery could help them relate to different meanings or interpretations in art. Alvarez expressed similar feelings, stating, “The students get immersed.”

Overall, art can help students learn how to better represent themselves through different elements and interpretations, letting them spread the message of self-expression throughout different communities; such is the case with Swihart at CSULB and the art students at McAuliffe Middle School.