2025 WESS Art Gala

The Art Gala was a huge success, and we are so grateful for the support we received from WESS families in attendance. We achieved our goal of raising over $10,000 towards the school library, and are extremely happy to have featured so many WESS artists.

The Journey

The books that WESS had were in disarray, pilled and stacked in the back of a mostly unused room. As two students that had grown up frequently visiting libraries, this was extremely disappointing to see.

The "library" that was in place could hardly be called one at all. Shelf frames were the only signs of what might have previously been a library. The shelves themselves lay dusty and forgotten.

A photo of the library with desks and bookshelves in the back

June 4th–The Night of the Gala

We had spent the past 5 months working up to this night, and it had finally arrived. The Black Box was covered in festive decorations and the pieces were hung and framed.

We had arranged for food, dessert, drinks, and a live band to be present in order to help set the mood.

June–October

Following the gala, our work was only half over. Now we needed to begin work on the library.

Over the course of several months, we took out the old chairs and tables, put in new shelves, and began transferring the old books down from room 308, where they'd been siting in disarray.

The process was only possible with a group of incredibly supportive peers who helped to transition the room to a healthy and thriving library.

January 2025

We started work on this project in January of 2025, recognizing that our school lacked a library and needed more community spaces.

One of our goals when starting this project was to create a community space at WESS where people could gather and collaborate, in a setting with the peace and quiet to cultivate meaningful conversations.

We decided the best way to tackle this issue would be to create an event where we could raise the necessary funds to transform the space, hence the idea of the art gala was born.

February–May

During the end of the winter months, we planned for the date of the gala, holding meetings and framing sessions. We made a plan to auction off pieces of student artwork in order to raise funds.

We made sure to hold discussions with admin, staff, the art teachers, parents, and PA officers in order to properly understand the wants of every stakeholder.

The back of the classroom with windows. There is light streaming in and desks covered in books. There is a poll on the right.

The Gala

The gala featured over 70 pieces of student artwork, most of it framed, as well as a live jazz band, food, drinks, a raffle, an art station, awards, and speeches.

We were able to successfully raise over $10,000 that would go straight to the new library.

The Current Library

Today, room 128 is a vibrant and active component of the West End Secondary School community. The room is filled from floor to ceiling with books and features numerous chairs, tables, computers, and a printer.