Dover-Sherborn’s got talent

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By Christina Perrone
Hometown Weekly Intern

On Saturday June 24, Drew Sveen hosted the first ever Dover-Sherborn Art Show in Dover Church’s Kraft Hall. Sveen is a junior at Dover-Sherborn High School and is responsible for curating the show. He was inspired to take on this ambitious project because he felt the need bring attention to the immense artistic talent of Dover-Sherborn’s youth.

“There’s a lot of artists at my school I know that make art,” said Sveen, an artist himself. “I wanted to have people appreciate and share the art … A lot of people don’t see the art, and there’s so much talent. So I thought, ‘Might as well.’” Sveen hopes that his show will shed a little more light on youth talent.

The room was filled with art, varying in mediums, styles, and sizes. People walked among the rows of paintings in shock and admiration. Down the center of the room, bright ceramic pieces stood for sale along with a prominent copper display called “Goldfish.” Most art for sale ranged from $20 to $12.

“It’s so surprising to see how many styles there are,” said Sveen, looking around the room, “especially on that back. Those two boards have some crazy, expressive styles.” On the back wall, collages, photographs and sketches were on display, all filled with meaning and intention. It was refreshing to see all of the new and creative ideas presented at the show.

One of Sveen’s favorite works was of a hand extending to other hands, with chains hanging in the background. “I like the hands, it’s one of my favorites … I like how it’s really realistic, but it’s also abstract in a way.” Though all of the art was different, the work felt cohesive with bright, expressive colors.

Just by looking around at all the art, it was clear how much time and effort Sveen had put into making the show possible. “I’ve been [organizing] it for a month and a half now, just announcements at schools, emails to everyone I know, flyers all around the Greater Boston area, and the newspaper,” he said.

Some of the art came from professionals living in the area, but most pieces were contributed from his peers at Dover-Sherborn High School.

“Hopefully this is the first of many,” said Sveen of the Dover-Sherborn Art Show. “If we can, in the following years, [I’d like to] extend it to other schools in the area.”

All proceeds from donations went to charities in Boston that support the arts and supply young artists with the tools they need to express themselves.