Six Guilderland High School students had artwork selected for the 2025 Media Arts Festival, including ninth grade student Kaylin Doorly, who was awarded first place in the visual identity category.
Held at Niskayuna High School on April 10, the juried Media Arts Festival showcased outstanding films, animations, digital art, graphic design and other media from students attending schools in Capital Region.
Congratulations to the following students and their teachers :
- Honorable Mention Film: Violet Ayers; Mr. Piejko
- Outstanding Film, Narrative Comedy: Liam Hanzalik, Riley Better; Mr. Greene
- Outstanding Film, Action/Mystery/Horror: Riley Better; Mr. Greene
- Honorable Mention, Stop Action: Ian Dunn; Mr. Piejko
- Honorable Mention, Stop Action: Rosie Glass; Mr. Piejko
- Outstanding Cinematography: Liam Hanzalik, Riley Better, Mr. Greene
- First Place, Visual Identity: Kalyn Doorly; Mr. Piejko
The festival included keynote speaker Corey Aldrich, Executive Director of the Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy. Aldrich has been in the freelance creative world for over 10 years. As a consultant, he is deeply involved in the creative economy working with arts-based and cultural institutions and individual artists and makers. His experience is significant in brand development via experiential design, marketing, and public relations. The festival also included a viewing of the work in the gallery, as well as a film festival, with announcements of awards for each category as determined by our jurors. The work was adjudicated by art professionals including a photographer, filmmaker, illustrator, and graphic designer.
This festival was sponsored by The Capital Area Art Supervisors, The New York State Art Teachers Association, and hosted by Niskayuna Central School District. The festival was developed to provide students with a venue to explore and share their creative efforts in the media arts. A panel of art educators from each school reviewed and selected the work for the
show. Sixteen participating schools submitted film, photography, animation, computer art, and graphic design work. There were 191 two-dimensional works on display and just under 90 minutes of film.