Cabaret Night is a Notre Dame event packed to the brim with talent, both of the musical and artistic variety. Students, faculty, friends and family roam the halls enjoying everything from piano solos to rock concerts as well as being able to get an up-close look at the best artwork the Academy has to offer.

Ranging from museum curators to local artists, a group of judges selected by Mrs. Brandtner, NDA’s art teacher, are tasked with the difficult job of choosing the best of the best.

“The winners are top notch,” explained Brandtner. “They’re the ones that stood out amongst all of the work, but the pieces in the show are the best projects of the entire year.”

Criteria is based on workmanship and creativity, but Brandtner admits sometimes a piece has an unspoken quality that makes it a winner. Pieces could win either first, second or third place, as well as a handful of other awards recognizing different mediums of art.

First place went to Taekyu Kim (Q) for his pen and ink drawing, Entrance of Secret Words.  Maria Pable placed second with her pen and ink drawing called Open Your Mind, and third place went to Johnny Ehlinger for his charcoal self-portrait.

Best of Drawing went to Rachel Stover; Best of Art Metals to Wyatt Druar; Best of Digital Art to Katherine VanDenheuvel; and Best of Mixed Media to Kim.

Honorable Mention winners were Charlie Sauter  and Rachel Bal.

“I was excited beyond words,” Lily Schumacher, a junior, said about winning Best of Painting for her rendering of the musician Cat Stevens. “I put a lot into my art, so recognition was truly indescribable.”

“Generally when I’m doing a large project, I want to do something I’m passionate about so I won’t lose interest in it since doing a good job is very time consuming,” she explained.

The piece holds a lot of importance to Schumacher and her family, particularly her mom. “When my mother was in high school her mother (Schumacher’s grandmother) was fighting with breast cancer which caused that period of my mom’s life to be chaotic and uncertain. She found consolation in Cat Steven’s music.”

Stevens converted to Islam and quit performing which caused Schumacher’s mother to feel abandoned.

“I wanted to replicate those feelings, which is why I included the splatter painting around the portrait.”

Schumacher and the other artists inject endless amounts of time, energy, and passion into their pieces and the art show is a way for them to get the recognition they deserve.

Brandtner firmly believes there’s a place for anyone in the art room and encourages students to branch out and get involved with the program. “Art is a great outlet for anybody, regardless of how talented they may be,” said the veteran teacher.