Claude Watson Presents: Sera Bianca

By Aysel Anami Olya

Student Life

An evening of immersive art, Sera Bianca, took place on November 20th, 2024 at Earl Haig. The grade 11 Claude Watson Majors collaborated to join the strengths of the visual arts, film, music, drama, and dance majors to create multiple artistic environments, each captivating viewers with their unique exhibit.

RISK - A. Putter, V. Stoichkova, C. Wang, S. Lubbers, L. Samuel, E. Phoenix, R. Ramlogan, K. Dreosto, R. Liu, M. Satkunaratnam, K. Pelton, A. Zeng, L. Pham | Photography: A. Zeng, R. Liu, M. Satkunaratnam, G. Yi

Sera Bianca (Italian for “white evening”), is an homage to Toronto’s annual all-night event, Nuit Blanche, which showcases the diversity of art through unconventional means— transforming the city night into a world of creativity and wonder.

This year’s Sera Bianca: Let the Games Begin focused on the concept of games, with each group of grade 11 Claude Watson Majors portraying and interpreting a specific game. The playful atmosphere shone, instilling a sense of childhood nostalgia in viewers, while offering them a way to experience games in a new light.

A significant part of Sera Bianca is the event’s collaborative nature. Diverse artists with a wide range of creative voices came together to create cohesive work. The challenge was to work towards an idea which provided space for each of the arts to shine. Grade 11 Visual Arts Major, Malaya Cousins, described this process “to be very difficult at times especially when it comes to the amount of ideas we all want to share and put into this exhibit.” But with this obstacle, Cousins acknowledges “ these simple disagreements will probably help me grow more as an artist,” giving these artists the opportunity to problem-solve, and teach them how to express their ideas, as well as respond to the proposal of their peers. When asked: “Has collaborating with multiple artists of different fields altered your perception of / attitude towards the art- making process?” Grade 11 Visual Arts Major Ilana Penha replied:

“Most definitely! As a visual artist, I am generally accustomed to working alone, so collaborating with many artists has certainly been an experience which has allowed me to consider many perspectives.”

By allocating a special space for a variety of artists to communicate, collaborate and exchange perspectives, Sera Bianca became an assortment of exhibits that resonated with audiences. The execution of this year’s Sera Bianca by the grade 11 Claude Watson Majors was a representation of how collaborative artistry can push artists to find new ways of creating art as an accessible interactive experience.