A local cafe displays pieces of art from students at Revere to bring in customers and create a comfortable atmosphere.
From its beginning two years ago, the Ocelot Cafe placed pieces of art made by current Revere students and alumni, drawing in people from the community and creating a comfortable environment.
Jason Smith, a Revere graduate and co-founder of the Ocelot, talked about why they decided to include only works from Revere.
“Since Ocelot is so close to the school, we found it important to represent the students in the community. When we acquired the space in 2022, it was one of the first choices made. We felt it helped mark our location as a welcoming community hub,” Smith said.
Liz Post, also a co-founder of Ocelot and former Revere AP art student, explained alongside Smith how they collaborated with art teacher Bob Pierson to choose the art that would go in.
“We were fortunate enough to attend the 2023 art show, where we hand selected specific pieces to display throughout the summer. The remaining pieces were picked by Bob Pierson,” Post and Smith said in a joint email.
Post and Smith explained what they look for when choosing the art to display, and how they make sure there are a wide variety of styles recognized.
“When we attend the art show . . . we look for pieces that have something to say. Sometimes we pick things with fun or clever titles. Others were picked because we like the medium the student chose to use. Mr. Pierson encourages displaying a variety of mediums, from monotypes, colored pencil renderings, and some watercolor,” Post and Smith said.
Though they display a variety of artworks, they make sure to show the highest quality pieces. Pierson explained why students have their art displayed.
“I like to have the most committed students on display down there because they’re usually committed to continuing. All of the ones down there presently or people either that I’ve had the last couple of years or I’m going to have for the next year,” Pierson said.
Being recognized for hard work is very valuable, and Pierson explained why it is so important that students have their works recognized in a public setting.
“If you have learned something and you’ve created something that you’re proud of, it should be seen, and this is the last opportunity before this stuff gets stuffed in some basement portfolio, and it’s never looked at again until the house is cleaned out someday,” Pierson said.
Not only do these works benefit the students whose works are shown, they also strongly contribute to the cafe. Post explained the effect that the pieces have on the environment of the cafe, and why she enjoys seeing it.
“The students’ artwork gives our café another level of comfort. There’s something very endearing about watching a group of businessmen hold their quarterly meeting beneath a whimsical colored pencil rendering of stuffed animals,” Post said.
Along with providing a lively aesthetic to the cafe, the art also helped with the business. Post and Smith talked about the marketing benefits of displaying the artwork.
“We have a fair amount of people coming in just to see the artwork. The artists bring their parents and grandparents into the shop over the weekends just to see their works in the community gallery,” Post and Smith said.
Pierson explained why it is important to publicize the artworks made from the arts program at Revere, and represent the art classes well to the customers at Ocelot.
“Unless this artwork is shown, people don’t know the quality of the program we have. And I want this art program to not only stay as good as it is, but I want it to continue to grow and get better. Having work on display puts it out there that we’ve got a really, really strong art program,” Pierson said.
Senior and AP Drawing student Ryley Ferris has had many works of art displayed for both years that Ocelot has been open. She expressed how she feels about the works of high school students being displayed.
“I think it’s just nice to see stuff from the community, especially from young people, on display,” Ferris said.
Post and Smith will continue to display Revere artwork and shining light on hard-working high school artists.
