Dear families,

We are excited to welcome new families and returning families to the Art Studio! We are the co-representatives on the PA representing the Art Studio for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Art Studio, as a part of the LaGuardia High School Parent Association, is a volunteer led committee focused on events, programming and issues related to the Art Studio. We work with the Art Studio Assistant Principal to support all initiatives that benefit the students enrolled in the LaGuardia High School Fine Arts Program.

We would love for you to join us in the Art Studio! We need help with volunteers for Art Studio events, fundraising, and Donations to the Art Studio PA.

All of your donations go directly to the Art Studio and support our students. Some areas we support include: art supplies for all art classes, visiting artists, art shows and field trips. 

If you have something to contribute or a suggestion please email us at art@laguardiahspa.org. All Art Studio parents are welcome and encouraged to join.

We look forward to working with you this year!

Kristin Leigh and Cindy Wolf

Our first Fine Arts Studio meeting will be held on Monday, October 6th at 7:00pm. Please mark your calendars and join us. We are excited to welcome new and returning parents. This will be a Zoom meeting. 

Andrew Stehle (Sculpture teacher) who is standing in for AP of Fine Art, Heather O'Connell will welcome you all, and discuss plans for the Fine Art Studio this year. Other agenda items include: introducing our new Treasurer, looking at the Art Studio budget, fundraising plans and the learning about the visiting artist program. 

If you have something you would like to add to the agenda, please email us at art@laguardiahspa.org  We welcome and encourage all suggestions.

Meeting link

Dear Fine Art Studio Artists and Families,

It is with great excitement that I extend a heartfelt welcome to our new Fine Art Studio members and a warm welcome back to all of our returning artists! I am Andrew Stehle, LaG class of 1992, Fine Art Teacher, and now Coordinator of the Art Department while Assistant Principal Heather O'Connell (Polacik) is on maternity leave. 

Our studio is home to a wonderfully diverse group of passionate, talented, and kind individuals, and I am truly honored to be part of this vibrant community. 

We have an exciting year ahead, filled with a range of creative opportunities and special events. We’ll kick things off with our Faculty and Staff Art Show, opening on Friday October24th, followed by the highly anticipated Student Curated Art Show on Friday November 14th.

As we move into January 2026, we’ll host our Winter Semi-Annual Art Show, opening Friday, the 9th; and later in the year, you can look forward to the Senior Show Series, the Spring Semi-Annual Art Show, and possibly others! Our Fine Art Parent Association will also carry on the Visiting Artist series, providing students with the chance to learn from professionals in the art world. You can see some of the past artists here. 

Please take a moment to review and bookmark the information following this letter for a detailed look at the year’s schedule and opportunities.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our dedicated teachers, who have worked tirelessly to prepare for a successful year ahead. We are truly fortunate to have such an exceptional team guiding and inspiring our students.

Wishing you all a creative and fulfilling year ahead, and I look forward to seeing you in class and at our upcoming Art Shows!

Sincerely,

Andrew Stehle, Teacher/ Art Department Coordinator, IA
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
100 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10023
(212) 496-0700 ext. 3753

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So, what will this year look like in the Fine Art Studio? 

Art Courses

All first- and second-year students have been programmed for foundation-level courses and ll third and fourth-year students have been programmed for advanced-level courses and elective courses. All Seniors have been programmed for Art History, where they will engage in final preparations for the NYCDOE Visual Arts Commencement exam in January. For those new to our community, please review the  Fine Arts Studio Course Offerings  to learn more about our classes.  

Art Shows

Art Shows are among the most exciting parts of being a Fine Art Studio major! Please mark your calendar and make it to as many Art Show Openings as possible. Our Art Show Openings are on Fridays and members of the community are welcome to attend from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00p.m. Digital Posters for each show created by our incredible Digital Media Students will be released about a month prior to each show and will detail date and time information. You can also find this information on our school calendar. Submission details for the Student Curated Art Show will be available in October, and Senior Show Applications will be available in December.   

Oct 24: Faculty and Staff Art Show

Nov 14: Student Curated Art Show (open to all students, application based)

Jan 9: Winter Semi-Annual Art Show (open to all students, teacher selections)

Mar 06: Senior Show 1 (open to all Seniors, application based)

April 17: Senior Show 2 (open to all Seniors, application based)

May 8: Senior Show 3 (open to all Seniors, application based)

Others To Be Determined

Art Supplies:  Donate here!

All students have access to the supplies they will need for class in our classrooms with the help of our incredible Fine Arts Parent Association. This school year, we will continue vital fundraising efforts to close funding gaps. Our Fine Art Studio Parent Association is our biggest supporter, helping us to make this possible. If you are in a position to donate, we thank you! We are so lucky to have a wonderful and supportive community that helps to ensure that all kids in our program have access to the art supplies they need! 

If you would like to donate directly to your child’s art classroom, please do not hesitate to contact their teacher! We are always looking for basic supplies like soap, tissues, paper-towels and other essential items in addition to basic art supplies. 

Open Studio

Our Open Studios are spaces where Fine Art majors can continue work on a class project or engage in personal artwork. Open Studio is staffed with one of our Fine Arts teachers who can provide extra help to students in need. Open Studios are an excellent place for our Juniors and Seniors who may want more studio time to work on their college portfolios. While each Open Studio takes place in a specialized art studio space, you can go to any Open Studio room to engage in your work. If you are going to a room different from the space you have art class in, be sure to bring your supplies from class. Open Studio is available during all lunch periods.

4 th Period- Room 747 Ms. Butterer

4th period  - Room 801 Ms. Mulvihill

5th period - Room 859 Ms. Curiale

6th period - Room 737 Ms. Riley

6th period - Room 713 Mr. Viglis

7th period -  Room 723 Ms. Schwarz

College Portfolio Support: Open Studios

All Juniors and Seniors are encouraged to attend Open Studio to receive support with their Art Portfolio. Every Open Studio teacher is available to review your Portfolio and guide you through the art college application process.  As a reminder, our students begin preparing for college portfolios in their first year of our art classes! It is important that all students save digital photographs of each work they create in class, so that they have a comprehensive portfolio to pull from for college applications.   Make sure to share your college application plans with your double-period art teacher, who is there to help and support you. 

Added bonus: October 22 and 23, we will host various Art college representatives to review portfolios and give students advice on their Art college journey. It’s coming soon, so mark your calendars! 

*Check out our College Portfolio & College Application Support presentation,  here  (slides) and  here  (video), it’s never too soon to start planning!

Fine Art Studio Communication: News N Notes

We will make the effort this year to publish our student-led department newsletter, News N Notes. It will arrive in your email associated with your student/parent account. This newsletter will contain information about our studio and excellent outside opportunities available to students. We thank the incredible team of students who have volunteered to make it happen.  News N Notes will be emailed to the studio and posted on the Fine Arts page of the LaGuardiahs.org website. 

Art Studio: Getting involved

Open to Fine Art Studio majors in all grades, we always need help with our publications, Art Shows, events, and studios. Please talk to you Art teachers, or visit Mr. Stehle in rm. 749 if you want to volunteer. Some opportunities are eligible for community service hours.

Commencement Exam: Seniors

All Seniors will participate in the Arts Commencement Exam in January. This  city-wide exam  typically consists of an art portfolio and a written exam. Fine Art Studio majors begin preparing for this exam in their year-one art classes, helping us to achieve a high success rate.

Specific preparations for this exam will take place in your Art History class. If you have questions about the Commencement Exam, please get in touch with your Fine Art or Art History teacher, who will help you.

Art Studio Parent Association

Our partnership with the Art Studio Parent Association is critical to our success.  You can find their website,  here , which includes ways to  volunteer  and  donate .   Please also be sure you are  signed up to receive  information from the PA! 

Studio Sponsorship: 

If you are in a position to sponsor one of our wonderful studios, or have connections to companies who might be interested, please see our Sponsorship Opportunities,  here .  To learn more, please contact our Art Studio Parent Representatives,  art@laguardiahspa.org  

Staying Informed

Who should I contact if I have a question about my art classes?

Double Period Fine Art Teacher

Your double-period Fine Art teacher is there to help guide you through everything related to the Fine Art Studio. They will help direct you to the right people if they do not have the answer to your question. 

How do I stay informed about everything happening in the Fine Art Studio? 

1. Weekly Bulletin: Yellow Sheet

The school’s Yellow Sheet will highlight important school information including Fing Arts news and will be emailed to students and families every Friday

2. Fine Art Studio Page- LaGuardia

Website  https://www.laguardiahs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=582115&type=d

We thank you for your patience as we update our website for the 2025-26 year. In themeantime, you will still find relevant links to our program, and a video highlighting some ofour elective Art classes.

3. Art Studio News N Notes’

This is our Student-led monthly newsletter celebrating Fine Art Studio happenings.  This is where you will find Art Show information, Art Show reviews, class spotlights, important updates, outside opportunities and much more!  You will receive News N Notes via email and it will be posted on the Fine Arts page of the Laguardiahs.org website

4. Art Studio Parent Association Newsletter 

Our wonderful Art PA sends out a newsletter via email to help keep everyone informed.  sign up here. 

 5. Art Studio Instagram: @lagartdepartment

Follow us! Our Instagram page is run by our Student Art Rep, Beatrice (Bea) Kotuk, in collaboration with the Art Department.

Friday, October 24. Come see the work of LaGuardia faculty! Stay tuned for more information.

Please consider volunteering to support the Fine Art Studio. Use your talents to support our talented student artists. If you are good with graphics, please consider helping us with the newsletter, if you have an eye for fashion, please consider helping us design our art studio merch. If you have something else, you’d like to contribute or see done let us know.

 
And please consider donating to the Fine Art Studio. You donation will directly support the Fine Arts Studio. 

Volunteer

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