Photo courtesy of Alia Payne

Digital media and visual majors converse with college representatives and receive critiques on their artwork at Portfolio Review Day on Jan. 20.

Attending an arts school provides students with unique opportunities. Here at Dreyfoos, one of the most interesting events students are able to experience is Portfolio Review Day, which took place in the gym on Jan. 20. Digital media and visual students were able to present a portfolio of their artwork to multiple college representatives and receive critiques.

“Portfolio day is an all day event in the gym where all the visual and digital media kids get to dump their art portfolios out in front of representatives for colleges, and get feedback and advice on how to strengthen their body of work,” visual junior Alia Payne said. “You get a lot of good advice on your art and how to better it. [Portfolio Review Day] gives you a better idea of what schools out there are looking for and prepares you for applying to art colleges in the future.”

Dreyfoos has held Portfolio Review Days for thirteen years. These review days exist in other locations, but Dreyfoos students get the privilege of having extensive time with representatives in a relaxed environment.

“[If Dreyfoos didn’t have Portfolio Review Day]  students would have to go to Portfolio Day in Miami, Portfolio Day in Sarasota, and that’s students from all of the counties and all of the schools in lines that are unreal,” visual dean Lacey Van Reeth said. “[At the Dreyfoos event, students] have smaller lines. It’s just students in the [digital media and visual] departments here, it allows them to have personal one-on-one time, and it allows them to create relationships with these representatives from schools that can really pay off in the long run. It’s a lot about networking and their ability to talk about and present their work.”

Digital media and visual students receive verbal feedback, and representatives also add notes on individual students into a file. During the student’s senior year, the representatives look back at the notes and determine if the student should be offered scholarship opportunities. Students can receive offers from diverse schools. In the past, colleges from Mexico, Canada, and the Netherlands have attended. Not all the schools that attend are solely art schools, either.

“Portfolio Day is really great for honing in on your artistic strengths, and figuring out your weakness,” Payne said. “It really does do something to help you figure out where you’re going with your work, or at least remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing.”