WA has always had passionate artists. From teachers who work to recognize their students’ talent to students who go on to earn statewide awards, this much is evident. There are many different elements that go into the cultivation of many WA students’ passion for art, one of them being the yearly tradition of entering to be featured in the annual Westford Academy Art Club Calendar, of which the 40th anniversary is approaching.

First created and sold for the year 1984, the Art Club Calendar was started by then art teachers Arlyss Becker and Joan Longobardi. Its primary intent was to fundraise for the WA Art Club, which it is still used for; in fact, calendars were sold at the Holiday Bazaar at WA on Saturday, Dec. 2. Along the way, the calendar has created a longstanding tradition of showcasing students’ skills and building a sense of community within the art classroom. It has also been integrated into the art curriculum.

Over its nearly 40 years at WA, the calendar has also become significantly popular among faculty, the School Committee, and the WA Board of Trustees. According to art teacher Edward Hardy, the various drawings within the calendar’s pages represent everyday life in Westford, making it a bestseller right before the new year begins.

“It’s easy to see how popular [the calendar] is at the school,” Hardy said. “We’ve kind of committed to it, and we like doing it and the kids enjoy doing it and they really don’t mind the competitive side. This year there were 65 drawings done and 14 usually get selected.”

For 2024 however, WA staff voted for 15 of the 65 drawings, resulting in two drawings being displayed on the back cover. According to Hardy, the calendar project is one of the few times the art classes delve into the world of art as a competition, with students being able to learn new skills.

This year’s winners for the calendar are seniors Daanya Usmani, Cora McWade, Ananya Sreekakolapu, Meghan Gardner, Elizabeth Lu, Ivy Vernalia, and Emily FitzPatrick; juniors Brendan Chambers, Sachi Rasne, Ruby Davis, Alyssa Duronio, and Rebecca Ward; and sophomore Alex Dunne.

“The calendar was a fun way for me to try sketching at a larger scale. I really enjoyed the process of capturing every detail from my reference image,” Sreekakolapu said. “I haven’t drawn something for the calendar before, so I was really excited that my piece was selected.”

The impacts of the calendar aren’t only limited to students, however. For English teacher Rebecca Shaw, the calendar was a project she remembers fondly from when she was a student at WA. As an artist herself and the middle sister to two other artists, the Art Club Calendar was something that meant a lot to Shaw’s family.

“My mom would frame the calendar drawings and they would be in my grandparents’ house [saying] Jordana Shaw, Rebecca Shaw, Jessica Shaw. It was something we all took pride in,” Shaw said.

Having taken painting classes when she was young, art was an interest of Shaw’s for years, serving as a source of empowerment. She went on to take art electives throughout high school, and she cites her competitiveness as a reason for her drawings being selected for multiple calendar years.

The calendar, in the beginning, put emphasis on the display of town landmarks and buildings, including the Town Common. However, it has changed over the decades, and now it strives to represent normal life in Westford, containing drawings of other locations and people. In fact, the 2024 calendar’s front page, titled “At Your Service” and drawn by Usmani, depicts a scene of a girl saluting a police officer at Muffins on Main. This is Usmani’s third year participating in the calendar project, and she has been chosen every one of those times.

“This year, I told myself I had to get the front cover of the calendar,” Usmani said. “Partly I felt I had to carry on the ‘Usmani sister trend’ of getting on the cover like my sister did two years prior. […] The difficulty was not in drawing my picture—I was accustomed to replicating images—it was in finding the perfect picture moment that was out of the box and original.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Pravar Mukkala

The two calendars from 1984 and 2024 are strikingly similar and different in many ways: they are both labors of love and dedication from teachers and students, but their appearance has shifted over the years.

Ultimately, the art calendar is a culmination of students’ and teachers’ efforts. Directed largely by Hardy and fellow art teachers over four weeks with their classes, the process serves as a learning tool as well as a graded project. After faculty votes on which drawings should be in the calendar, art teacher Melissa McDonald assembles it, and it’s done.

“The calendar drawing project means a lot to me as it is a chance for my art to be recognized and to create a memorable visual for myself and others to cherish,” Usmani said. “It brings a feeling of unity both in the picture taking process and the final piece.”