The City of Peekskill can be proud of Peekskill High School student Jade Mendez Rodriguez. Over the past few months Jade has been working as a mentee under teaching artist Brian Beaton. On Saturday, March 15, 2025, from 1- 3 p.m., there will be an Opening Reception of the Garrison Art Center’s High school Mentor Program and the School Invitational Theme Exhibition (SITE) in which four of Jade’s works will be displayed. The works will be on display at this prestigious local institution along with other local High School students’ works from March 15 – 30, 2025. tThe theme for this years
The SITE and Mentor/ Mentee program theme this year is Exploring Identity. The exhibition will feature the creative artwork of kindergarten to 12th-grade students in the Hudson Valley region. The high school Mentor Program exhibition will feature Jade’s work and the work of other high school students from schools around the region.
Since 1988, the Mentor Program for high school students has provided a distinctive opportunity for committed high school students to collaborate with professional artists, fostering their growth in a specific area of interest. This unique pairing allows students to push the boundaries of their skills in a medium they are already proficient in and gain valuable insights from their mentor’s professional experience. The program’s culmination is a group exhibition showcasing the students’ achievements. This year, 12 students worked with mentors across disciplines such as pottery and painting.
Below are the Mentors and mentees that are participating in this year’s exhibition…
Mentor – Mentee
Linda Barboni – Hazel Berkley
Terry Boice – Ada Caccamise
Charnan Lewis – Lenny Chandler
Lisa Knaus – Kira Drury
Aya Uekawa – Sarah Healey
Nichols – Emmett Jaslow
Ada Pilar Cruz – Eowyn Kolarek
Emily Brown – Jackie McCormick
Dan Loxton – Ruby McCormick
Brian Beaton – Jade Mendez Rodriguez
Trevor McGee – Charles Rowe
Regina Gelfer – Louisa Schimming
Here is a gallery of the works created by Jade that will be on display.
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Artworks created by Peekskill High School student Jade Mendez Rodriguez via the Garrison Art Center Mentor/ Mentee High School Program. Jade’s mentor is Brian Beaton.
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Artworks created by Peekskill High School student Jade Mendez Rodriguez via the Garrison Art Center Mentor/ Mentee High School Program. Jade’s mentor is Brian Beaton.
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Artworks created by Peekskill High School student Jade Mendez Rodriguez via the Garrison Art Center Mentor/ Mentee High School Program. Jade’s mentor is Brian Beaton. Photo credit: Garrison Art Center
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Artworks created by Peekskill High School student Jade Mendez Rodriguez via the Garrison Art Center Mentor/ Mentee High School Program. Jade’s mentor is Brian Beaton.
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In addition, the Garrison art Center will host the School Invitational Theme Exhibition (SITE) exhibition and opening reception at the same time and place. Young artists in the Hudson Valley region were invited to participate in creating artwork centered around the theme, Exploring Identity. This was a chance for students to express themselves through art, sharing how they see themselves, their culture, and their unique experiences. The Garrison Art Center prompted students to think about the “identity and the mix of qualities, behaviors, and traits that place a person in certain groups. Identity could be shaped by many things like ethnicity, race, religion, language, or culture. Some parts of our identity are given to us, but others are shaped by the choices we make and the groups we choose to be part of.” This SITE exhibition celebrates the diverse ways in which identity shapes our world. Hudson Valley students who explored ideas of identity in their art and are part of the SITE exhibition include: Jacob Lawrence, Melesio Casas, Cindy Sherman, Sadie Red Wing, Adrian Piper, Molly Crabapple, Anila Quayyum Agha, Maya Lin, William Wegman, Bisa Butler, Anthony Gormley, Keith Haring, Faith Ringgold, and Marc Chagall.
The Garrison Art Center is located at 23 Garrison’s Landing in Garrison. It is directly next to the Garrison Train Station. However, if you prefer to drive, free parking is available at the MTA parking lot on weekends. The parking lot is located on the east side of the train tracks. To access the art center, simply walk through the tunnel or across the bridge to the riverside.
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