Hues & Harmony: 2 nights of celebrating art, music in Hampton

Maybe it was a finger painting or stick-figure sketch, or perhaps something you drew using Spirograph.

Whatever the style, your creation may have earned a prominent place on the family refrigerator, to be viewed every time someone opened the door.

Now, imagine your work on display where hundreds of people can view and admire it.

Welcome to Hues & Harmony, where Hampton Township School District students can show off their artistic and musical talents for community members across the board.

“I think that’s why we get excited about it, because it’s a way to get folks into our schools and see what’s happening who may not be connected to them,” Jacquelyn Removcik, assistant to the superintendent, said. “To share those experiences with a larger audience is really, really powerful, and you can give folks a great sense of pride in what’s happening here in the district.”

The event is scheduled for March 5 and 6 at Hampton High School and features participation by students of all grade levels.

“It’s a great opportunity to share what they learn about and what they create in the classroom,” Lisa Woods, who chairs the district’s art department, said. “It also allows them to see what other students in the district are doing and gives them a chance to look forward to what they might be creating when they move up into middle school and high school art classes.”

Musicians in elementary and secondary schools constitute the “Harmony” part of the event, which is returning to its original scope and scale for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re going to feature groups that you might not normally see at our main winter and spring concerts,” music department chairman Sean Desguin said, including the middle and high school jazz bands, plus elementary students performing piano solos and pieces for violin, woodwinds and percussion.

Speaking of the latter, Hues & Harmony guests will be able to exhibit their own abilities in an activity called “found sounds.”

“People are going to be able to create some basic percussion instruments out of everyday materials, and then they’ll have a chance to play them in a drum circle,” Desguin said.

Guest participation extends to artistic endeavors such as origami and screen printing — “People can make a shirt and wear it that night, if they want,” Woods said — and making “mini-masterpieces.”

“The art club kids made a bunch of different sized and shaped frames, and people can draw their own masterpiece inside each of the frames,” she explained.

Youngsters can participate in a scavenger hunt, perusing pieces on display to fulfill requirements such as “find an artwork that makes you laugh” and “find an animal in the artwork.”

Beyond drawings, paintings and portraits, plenty of other styles will be featured, from three-dimensional work to demonstrations of pottery and weaving.

“It’s great to get them involved with as many different types of art and media that we can,” Woods said, “to try to offer a good array of materials and supplies, and let them have at it.”

For more information, visit www.ht-sd.org/arts/hues-harmony.