NEDERLAND, Texas — Boston Avenue in Nederland is usually decked out for the holiday and is set to bring in the new year with a new look.
City leaders have teamed up with student artists from Nederland High School in a new project called the 'Art Banner Project.’ Students submitted their favorite art project in hopes that theirs would be chosen to be made into a banner that will be displayed on Boston Avenue.
"Throughout the year we also have our bulldog banners, our Christmas banners, and we decided to have something else in the beginning of the year," City Manager Chris Duque said. "And we decided to put together an art banner program."
Students from the high school having been working since August to be first to display their art pieces.
"I chose the primary colors just because I really like primary colors," Sarah Nuno Chavez, 10th grade student, said. "I think they look really good together. It has a big focus, like a face in the middle and its just kind of crazy. "
Fifty art students submitted their favorite pieces throughout the year. Some students even submitted multiple works of art.
"I decided to submit two artworks that I won at the Rice festival," Catherine Espinola, 10th grader, said. "It was Ms. Smith who convinced me to enter that contest where I ended up winning and then I put it into the banners."
Lynell Smith has been helping run the art department for eight years. Smith is eager to expose students to all opportunities art has to offer.
"I know that they get very excited when they found out it was going to be on Boston," Smith said. "They got so many of them want to do murals, and they want to do windows and they want to do so many things."
The program is meant to showcase different artists in the community.
"Just for everybody being able to see something that I've done, I just think it's really cool," Chavez said. "I just want to send photos to everyone that I know."
The students said one of the most rewarding parts of of the program was working together.
"It's really nice to be able to have other people with different ideas so they can show you a different perspective on things to maybe interpret into your work, whether its texture or pottery, whatever," Gomez said. "We all like inspire each other."
The banners are set to be displayed on Boston Avenue in Nederland by the middle of January 2023.