On February 6, 2025, at 6:30 P.M., Eclipse Center for Creative Community opened its doors to Lansdale for its latest gallery’s opening reception night. The two floors of artwork were packed with a crowd admiring each piece, and the sixty-seven pieces on display were all created by North Penn High School’s own student artists.
The displays of work at the Eclipse Center are a first for North Penn, branching out from the typical school-hosted art show each May. The artwork was accompanied by live music, played by students, as well as snacks for visitors. North Penn art teachers were asked to select student artworks, which were then curated and displayed across the gallery, which will be open for four more weeks, explained Joanne Coppens, the gallery’s owner.
“We did it because kids doing art leads to growing, happy, artist people contributing to society with their talents. Being creative this way adds to being creative in every avenue of your life, I think it’s really important,” Coppens shared.
For Coppens, opening the gallery in 2021 was a “long-term dream come true.” Four years later, the student gallery event provides an opportunity, not only for the community to recognize the talents of student artists, but for student artists to have their work appreciated and to make connections with others.
“Seeing your work for sale in a gallery space is exciting, and opens up more possibilities about how you can potentially sell work as an artist. It’s great community engagement, and it’s just great for students to see their work on display and have that recognition for the hard work and creative work they’re doing,” Mrs. Joanne Carrick, a North Penn art teacher, reflected.
“To do a community show is very different from doing a show at the high school. You get to come out, you get to be a part of a real gallery opening, and you get to put it on your resume that you’re in a gallery show, and it’s just like a taste of real life and how this works in the art world,” Mx. Maggie Horvath, a ceramics teacher at North Penn said.
Among the many art students at the high school, narrowing down their decisions for student artworks was challenging, Carrick and Horvath agreed. Still, the end result proves worth it for those with art on display.
“I’m honestly just really happy about it. I love seeing all my friends here, and I’m feeling proud that I got into something like this. It’s definitely a good way of exposure and getting other artists to see it, maybe some other artists outside of the school district would notice it and could help you with future college or job opportunities,” Claire Kermis, a Portfolio Prep student at North Penn shared.
“I like that the high school is integrating more art shows throughout the year, it’s really cool. I’m just surprised how many people showed up, so I’m really grateful to all my friends who showed up to support us and everything,” Jisoo Chong, a North Penn artist said.
For artists such as Kermis and Chong, art serves as a space for creative liberty and freedom without judgement, where “you can do what you want to do, and make what you want to make,” Kermis said. “No one can say, ‘don’t do that.’ You can do it. I can do whatever I want, and especially in my class, I feel that kind of thing is put forward,” Kermis continued.
“I’ve been able to use art, both a way to express how I’m feeling, but also to discover more about myself and who I am as a person. That’s what I really love about art,” Chong shared.
North Penn’s students aren’t the only ones who note the significance of art; Coppens was expressive that hosting events that share art with the community, as well as creating art, are “important to the human condition. If you’re sitting in a bland space, or a dirty space, or a messy space, it’s not good for your mind,” Coppens said.
“Art helps with depression. It helps with coping skills and with trauma, and art brings joy, even in the process, not necessarily in the product. It helps with everything. If you imagine the world without art- just think of one street that you go down- what would it look like? People have been creating art since people existed, from cave walls until now, whether it was functional or just decorative, we’ve always found a way to make the things around us more beautiful,” Coppens said further on the importance of art.
The Eclipse Center for Creative Community, located at 30 Vine Street in Lansdale, will continue to welcome the community to the array of North Penn student artwork on display up until March 6, 2025, free of charge for visitors, with a variety of the student artworks also being posted for sale in the gallery. Everybody, regardless of their art experience, should attend this impressive gallery.
