The Art program at Santa Fe provides students with an introduction to art with the foundation classes in art 2-D, 3-D and the more advanced classes, Drawing and Painting, Portfolio, and Advanced Placement Studio Art. These classes give students the opportunity to participate in many different ways that will help enrich their development in art and their lives.

Each year art students participate in several competitions, such as the Polk County-wide Carols in the Park poster contest since the contest first started over twenty years ago. Santa Fe students have always been awarded a prize in each of the categories, including winning the Best of Show twice.

They have also taken part in Florida Catholic newspaper contest for a design for their Christmas front page issue. Last year one of our student’s artwork was published in the paper.

Several of our students have had their artwork published by St. Mary’s Press. Their artwork may be seen in the textbooks Creating a Christian Life Style, Living Justice and Peace and A Teenage Guide for Lent.

For Swansation, a City of Lakeland fundraiser for Explorations V Children’s Museum our school received a five foot fiberglass swan to be designed and painted by the art teacher and art students. It was then auctioned along with over one hundred Lakeland businesses and schools.

In another related Swansation contest all Polk Country students were given the opportunity to design a miniature fiberglass swan. Again, one of our art students won this contest in the high school category and his swan was also auctioned to benefit the Children’s Museum.

Another important competition was the Kaleidoscope of Butterflies in which all the art classes entered. Two of our students each won a metal butterfly to paint their winning design on. These butterflies were then auctioned to raise money to build a park in Lakeland, for children of all Abilities. One of the butterflies can be seen on campus.

Other competitions are juried exhibits such as the annual Polk County High School, held at Arts on the Park Gallery in downtown Lakeland. The annual Twelfth Congressional Creative Youth Exhibit held at the Polk Museum of Art has exhibited some of our art student’s artistic creations. The Young Artists Annual Show at Ridge Art Gallery in Winter Haven, featuring Polk County high school is another juried exhibit Santa Fe students take part in. Last but not least we have our own annual Fine Arts Expose held in the M.P.C. each April.

Students also take field trips to the Polk Museum of Art and the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

For students to be aware of the many careers that are available in Art, Art college representatives come to the art classes to present the literally thousand of opportunities that are available in the world of Art.