By donating to organizations and holding fundraisers to help the community, Art 4 Social Change is spreading awareness after a period of club decline.
“At the end of my sophomore year the club was actually dying,” Art 4 Social Change president TT Le said. “There were two officers, my cousin and me. There were four members, maybe five so we knew if the seniors were to graduate, the club would die if no one were to step up for them.”
Art 4 Social Change vice president Alexa Rueger remembers the time of the club’s “renaissance.”
According to Le, they decided to essentially take the club and rebrand it to revive it.
Le said last year was really successful in the reviving process.
Advisor Sabrina Pistoria began advising the club after the previous advisor retired.
“The role was first handed down to me from [art teacher Ginny] Perry who retired,” Pistoria said. “She had worked with the club for such a long time, and it seemed like a club that was really beneficial to the community, so I wanted to keep it going.”
While officers are still working to revive the club’s popularity, they all share the feeling of comfort they have within the club.
Treasurer Alex Albert said their favorite thing about being a part of the club “would probably be the small little community we’ve built here because everyone is just so kind and supportive to each other.”
According to Le, by joining the club you gain friendships and the “feeling of being involved.”
“I would say what makes Art 4 Social Change different from other clubs is the people that are in it. We want to make this place a safe place for everyone,” Le said.
Despite the family that Art 4 Social Change has built, striving to make the community a better place through art is their main goal.
“I think the club’s main goal would be spreading awareness about social issues and finding causes that are important to donate to,” Rueger said. “Recently, we’ve done different collabs, we’ve donated to organizations to aid women and children in Gaza, and there was also the pad project to spread awareness about period poverty.”
Club members and officers say they encourage people to try out the club, even if they do not consider themselves to be “artistic.”
According to Le, as long as you want to “improve the world” in an “artistic type of way,” people interested should consider joining the club. There is no need to have taken any art classes at the high school.