Friendships, like tides, have the power to lift everything that surrounds them. Take Cecilia Chen and Margaret Hohenshelt, for example. The two Hockaday School students recently organized an event in the Dallas Arts District that both featured and benefitted young local creators throughout the city. And it all started with a friendship.
“We’ve been best friends since fifth grade,” Hohenshelt said. “Cecilia is an artist, and we’ve always wanted to do an art show. We know how talented our friends are, and we wanted to find a way to display their art and show Dallas how much talent the teenagers in the city have.”
The pair, now upper school students, connected with the owners of downtown’s Café Olivia through a recent Hockaday alumni event. With a potential sponsor in place, a few emails were sent to test the waters for a possible art show. As messages multiplied, Chen and Hohenshelt were eventually in contact with hundreds of local students and teachers.
As their dream event came closer to becoming a reality, the friends’ outreach also revealed that a growing number of school arts programs are struggling. The issue hit close to home for them both and inspired the final component of their plan: philanthropy.
“Creativity and the skill to analyze and see things through an artistic lens is really important as you go through your life,” Chen said. A visual artist, her own colorful, abstract canvases depict women in thoughtful or active settings. Through her friendship, Chen also sees firsthand the impact of art across many diverse career paths.
“My mom was an art historian, and I’ve learned so much from her,” Hohenshelt said. “I love the business side of the art world, analyzing and marketing.”
On April 25, the friends’ efforts culminated with “Breakthrough Artists — The Business of Art Showcase.”
The event, hosted in the rotunda of the Dallas Arts Tower, featured 60 works by students from Hockaday, Greenhill School, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and St. Mark’s School of Texas. Mediums included paintings, photography, and textile art, with styles spanning realism to fantasy, and many realms in between.
Over 175 guests attended the event. Refreshments were sponsored by Café Olivia and art purchases were enabled through an online platform hosted by local startup, Unthink.ai. Proceeds from sales will benefit art programs within the Dallas Independent School District through donations of much-needed supplies.
Plus, it all raised awareness for a cause these two friends hold dear.
“It was great to meet the teachers, meet the kids, and be able to see the impact we’re making,” Hohenshelt said. “It’s something a lot of people don’t think twice about, but it’s very important to get an art education.”
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