Kaitlyn Wu (L.) with her piece “Eternal Breath,” and Grace Chen (R.), with her piece “Convergence.”
Great Neck Public Schools
Artwork submissions from two Great Neck South High School students were among 77 pieces selected for exhibit in the highly competitive 2025 Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at The Heckscher Museum.
South High artists and their works are Grace Chen, “Convergence,” oil on canvas, and Kaitlyn Wu, “Eternal Breath,” acrylic on canvas with found objects. Both pieces were created in College Advanced Art class led by South High art teacher Megan Cashman.
This past fall, South High’s College Advanced Art students took a field trip to the Heckscher Museum in Huntington. Students were tasked with selecting a piece on view from the Heckscher’s exhibit, “The Body Politic,” and making a composition in response to one work of art. The selected artwork for the Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum exhibit was judged based on the combination of studio skills and the ability to compose an artist statement describing their work process from inception to resolution.
“The written component required students to visually analyze the source of inspiration for their artwork, decode an interpretation of the piece they were inspired by, and articulate a personal connection visually present in their own work,” said Cashman. “This was an extremely challenging undertaking and the entire Art Department is incredibly proud of their hard work and their achievements.”
Now in its 29th year, Long Island’s Best is the only juried exhibition for Long Island high school students that provides the opportunity to exhibit in a museum. This year, 67 schools submitted students’ artwork for jurying, with a total of 455 entries received. The show was on display from April 6–May 25.
