It’s been 22 years in the making, and now the South Huntington School District has its very own art gallery to showcase students’ work. The district celebrated the opening of the new Vicki L. Dollin Art Gallery at Walt Whitman High School with a ribbon-cutting on Saturday, November 18th. The opening was held the same day as the annual Fine Art and Crafts Fair that’s been put on at the high school since 2001. The gallery is named after the former Walt Whitman art teacher, Vicki Dollin, who first proposed the art gallery idea and created the Fine Art and Crafts Fair as a way to raise money for construction. The newly-constructed addition is adjacent to the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in the 200 wing. It features a glass door and a window so students and visitors can admire what’s on display from the hallway even when the gallery is closed.
Vicki Dollin worked as an art teacher at Whitman from 1999 to 2014. “It was a vision I had every time I walked past the courtyard in the 200 wing across from the PAC,” said Vicki. “I imagined what it would look like for years. I always felt as though we lacked three dimensional showcase space.” A large 3D space would be better suited to display student artwork in all mediums including ceramics and sculpture. Using her previous experience in event planning, Dollin started the Fine Art and Crafts Fair specifically to raise money for an Art Development Fund to build an art gallery at the high school. 22 years later, that dream is now a reality. The opening featured the works of five former South Huntington art teachers including Dollin, Verna Amakawa, Paula Beck, Carol Davis, and Mary Ponte.
After Vicki raised more than $150,000 for the project and donated it to the school district, the school board voted to name the gallery after her. “The naming of the gallery [in my honor] was an unexpected but amazing honor I will always be grateful for. It’s a true legacy,” said Dollin.
Art students and teachers can now begin to plan exhibitions to be featured at the gallery year round. We can’t wait to see what the talented artists in our district create!
The South Huntington School District has its very own art gallery to showcase students’ work at Walt Whitman High School.
Five of South Huntington's retired art teachers were showcased at the gallery opening, including (left to right) Carol Davis, Verna Amakawa, Vicki Dollin, and Mary Ponte (Paula Beck not pictured).
(left to right) Board of Education Trustee Fred Scragg, BOE President Nicholas Ciappetta, presented a proclamation to retired art teacher, Mrs. Vicki Dollin, along with BOE Vice-President Linda LaCara and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Vito D'Elia.
Town Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo (left) and Senator Jim Gaughran (right) joined the Board of Education and district administration at the official ribbon cutting.