By Michael Laches
According to the Knight Foundation, art binds. It brings people together physically (at exhibits) and culturally, through its capacity to tell a community’s shared story, to inspire reflection, and form connections that transcend differences.
Towards this end, on August 29, the Keller Williams Legacy office in downtown Holly Springs held its first art exhibit for high school students. The creative force and visionary behind this enormously successful event, Cindy Szoczei, has been a real estate broker there for about six years. She is a cultural ambassador for the firm, whose mantra is Come from Contribution. This mantra played a large role in her support and leadership of the art event. Szoczei noted, however, that there was a personal motivation, too.
Szoczei’s daughter, Baylie, a passionate and talented soccer player since the age of 3, rose through the ranks from recreational league play to Wake FC. But, in 2021, Szoczei and her husband noticed Baylie was lethargic and not herself. Medical tests revealed a blood disorder that would prevent her from playing any contact sport, soccer included. It was a very traumatic time and there were tears from a girl who rarely cried, but Baylie’s response was to dive into art. According to Szoczei, she created some great pieces.
“I thought, wow, what a great way to celebrate herself and share that with other people,” Szoczei shared.
The Come from Contribution mantra coupled with Baylie’s personal story inspired what came next. The Keller Williams team (led by Chris Barnett), brainstormed about what new events to host for the community. The high school student art exhibit rose to the top.
For Szoczei, one of the unspoken goals of this event was to facilitate interaction and socialization among the high school kids, especially in light of the disruption they’ve endured during the last two years.
“Kids are in turmoil coming out of the pandemic. They have to re-learn how to socialize. For me, the event was more than the art exhibit itself. My goal was to make the kids feel special and they really did,” Szoczei said.
So, to set the stage, it was mid-July and school was on summer recess so trying to coordinate across southwestern Wake County high schools was not possible. Instead, they reached out to the community via social media and encouraged an old-fashioned strategy–word-of-mouth.
“We urged the community: even if you don’t have a high school student but know someone that does, please let them know about this event,” Szoczei shared.
For some students, this provided a venue and an avenue, if you will, that might not have otherwise existed. Szoczei noted how student athletes, band members or actors in a play all have outlets at school. They can celebrate who they are and share their talents with the community. This particular event provided such an outlet for the burgeoning artist.
The announcement about the event gave artists about a month of lead time. Students would be allowed to display up to two works of art. Some even created artwork specifically for this event. There were a variety of submissions including drawings, sketches, pastels, watercolors, oil on canvas and even some digital artwork.
Submissions came from high school students across Holly Springs, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, and elsewhere. Public and private schools were represented and there were even some home-schooled students in the mix.
“It was so much fun to collect the pieces. Some students dropped them off. Sometimes we picked them up. We started to get a sense for the student and the child. We got about 20 pieces and then had the event,” Szoczei said.
The event was held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Members of the Keller Williams team provided the food which was targeted to the artists: think chicken nuggets instead of charcuterie. Of the more than 75 people in attendance, most were family and friends of the student artists. Szoczei noted how the artists dressed up and proudly stood by their artwork, offering comments and insight as people walked by. Though some were shy at first, as the evening wore on, their collective faces lit up.
“The event was nothing short of magical. It was wonderful. The talent—it gives me chills to talk about it. This is exceptional,” Szoczei shared.
Szoczei recalled a few moments that stood out, like the demonstratively proud grandparents of one artist and the divorced mom and dad who were there to support their daughter, with mom in tears as attendees were in awe of her daughter’s artwork.
“It was touching. There were great connections there,” Szoczei said.
Speaking of connections, I asked two of the participants if they would share their thoughts and experiences from that day.
Joanne “Joey” Setti
I instantly felt a sense of community when I first walked in. I felt thrilled knowing that I had contributed something to a public event. I have been drawing for years, but I have never displayed or sold my artwork. Before the opportunity showed up, I had been itching to put my artwork on the walls, instead of keeping it to myself. I first started copying pictures of characters from a show that I enjoyed watching as a kid. Now I like to draw because they are often a reflection of my feelings, my passions, or even spur-of-the-moment moods. When I was at the show, I was even more delighted to know that people liked my artwork and that it was not considered “unprofessional” as I had previously viewed it. I saw a lot of different art styles and it made me realize how many people like to express themselves through creativity. I will definitely be coming back and I can’t wait for more chances to create art,
Madeline Powers
The people were really nice and sweet and seemed to love my work. Not gonna lie, I may have been embarrassed because they all crowded around me, but I felt special and appreciated. Plus, the food wasn’t too bad either. I didn’t have anything else happening in my life and it was a chance for people to see my work because I love showing it off, to be honest. I would like to [participate again] because it was a great experience. I definitely learned how much people actually like my work. Knowing that people like it makes me feel really good, especially since the day of the show was rough for me and it helped ease my stress.
It’s worth pointing out that another participating student artist, Helaina Ball, has a Facebook page where she sells her artwork. She then donates all of the monies received to the Women’s Center in Raleigh. Ball takes art and community engagement to another level.
The success of this event has inspired the Keller Williams team to expand it to three such events in 2023. The first is slated for late January 2023. Interest is already high and certain to grow. Stay tuned for more information. Szoczei said they’ll be more deliberate the next time around in terms of facilitating engagement between the artists. Photography will be allowed at the next event and artists who want to sell their art will be allowed to add price tags. You can reach out regarding the 2023 slate of high school art exhibits at szoczeic@gmail.com.
Szoczei noted that while some might have been wondering about the connection between a real estate office and an art exhibit, she wanted to underscore that this event wasn’t about Keller Wiliams.
“We’re a small office—not a museum of art. But, we are part of Main Street,” Szoczei noted.
In downtown Holly Springs, celebrating our children and providing a venue for them to share their talents, like art, binds the community.
