The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park will be hosting an exhibition that brings the age-old debate of nurture vs. nature to the forefront, as local student artists showcase their unique interpretations of the concepts.

This month, the Young Art 2025 exhibition, themed “Nurture and Nature,” will feature 269 student artists from across the region, with nearly 20 students from La Jolla schools represented.

• From Gillispie School, ten students will have their works chosen, the largest representation the school has ever had in an exhibition.
• Four students from The Bishop’s School will be showcased, with two from the studio art class and two from the ceramics class.
• At Art Scōl, three students will have their works chosen, with one from Muirlands Middle School.
• Two students from The Preuss School at UC San Diego will also be featured.

The exhibition will be on display from Saturday, April 5, to Sunday, May 18.

“Nurture and Nature” is the theme of the exhibition, and it is clear that the students have interpreted it in unique and creative ways. The works on display are a testament to the students’ individuality and their ability to express themselves through art.

Among the student artists, there are several who stand out for their expressive and imaginative works. At Gillispie School, for example, art teacher Susan Walters described the student works as “very expressive” and said that they reflect the students’ personality.

The students from Gillispie School have been working on their art pieces for several months, and their hard work has paid off. Walters described the students’ process as one of exploration and discovery, where they learned to express themselves through various mediums.

• One student created a drawing of a den of sleeping foxes, while another student painted a watercolor image of a farm field.
• A third student created a sculpture of a “green man” featuring leaves around his face.
• A fourth student created an image of a kelp forest.

The students from The Bishop’s School have also had their works chosen, with two students from the studio art class and two from the ceramics class.

Studio art teacher Elizabeth Wepsic said that for this exhibition, rather than produce new works, the students delved into their own portfolios for pieces that fit the theme.

“Futuristic and visionary” were the words used to describe the two pieces chosen from Wepsic’s class, one of which is a pen-and-color-pencil drawing of a desert structure, while the other is an oil-on-canvas image of a forest.

Wepsic said that the students’ works are a testament to the power of art to express oneself, and that the exhibition is a celebration of the students’ unique voices and perspectives.

At Art Scōl, the students were encouraged to think outside the box and push the boundaries of their creativity.

“Thinking outside the box” was the approach that the students at Art Scōl took when creating their pieces for the exhibition. They were given sketchbooks to jot down ideas and drawings until they were ready to create their works.

The students created a variety of pieces, including a painting of a pink tree facing a cityscape, a painting of a tree from a bug’s-eye view with messages written into the bark, and a pencil drawing of the artist hugging her sister.

Co-founder Jelena Gazivoda said that the students’ works are “very strong pieces” and that they are “happy to have been chosen.”

Overall, the exhibition is a celebration of the students’ creativity and imagination, and a testament to the power of art to bring people together.

Highlights

• 10 students from Gillispie School will have their works chosen, the largest representation the school has ever had in an exhibition.
• Four students from The Bishop’s School will be showcased, with two from the studio art class and two from the ceramics class.
• Three students from Art Scōl will have their works chosen.
• Two students from The Preuss School at UC San Diego will also be featured.

The exhibition is a great opportunity for the students to showcase their talents and for the community to come together and celebrate the students’ creativity.

As art teacher Susan Walters said, “I think they are all pretty happy about it.