Students heading to the Ralph B. O’Maley Innovation Middle School are greeted with a school of fish swimming on the building’s stark brick façade in an ocean-themed art installation that some of the kids helped to inspire.
The school of steel silver fish was installed Sept. 19 as part of a multi-year project thanks to local artist and sculptor Tim Mears, art teacher Brett Dunton, and the ocean-life imagination of middle-school students with an assist from Gloucester High engineering students.
A ribbon cutting for the school-of-fish art installation is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 10 a.m. at the school, 32 Cherry St., and it is open to the public.
The artwork was supported by a $15,000 grant from the Gloucester Education Foundation in 2023, including $8,000 from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation and $7,000 from community donations, according to a statement from the Gloucester Education Foundation.
The artwork is meant to help reflect the innovative programs that go on inside the walls of school, which houses about 630 students in grades 6-8. Some of the programs include an annual musical in which more than 80 students take part, a cutting-edge Science Center, and a successful band program, which are supported by the Gloucester Education Foundation.
However, for some, the school’s stark brick exterior did not reflect what was going on inside. A catalyst for the project was a desire to communicate from the building’s exterior what a special place the school is inside to students, families, and the community, the foundation said.
In 2023, Dunton approached the Gloucester Education Foundation with the idea of pairing O’Maley students with Mears to create a site-specific sculpture near the school’s entrance.
“GEF loves projects that bring the rich artistic traditions of Cape Ann to our schools, and those that give students real-world problems to tackle,” Gloucester Education Foundation Executive Director Emily Siegel said in a prepared statement. “This proposal from O’Maley did both.”
At the start of the past academic year, students sketched out possible designs for the installation in both Dunton’s and fellow art teacher Nicole Zadykowicz’s classes. Ocean life, with fish, sharks, boats and anchors, emerged as a theme, the foundation said.
Students crafted papier-maché models of fish that Mears crafted into a permanent steel sculpture. Engineering students at Gloucester High contributed to the effort by creating a 3-D printed model of the school’s façade and little metal fish to help think about scale and placement.
“Not only was it great to see the kids engage in the design process last year, but to see the looks of excitement on their faces when they saw Tim’s fish on the building for the first time was amazing,” O’Maley Principal Mike Titus said in a prepared statement.
“They were so proud to have been part of the process, to see the project come to fruition, and to have a gorgeous new sculpture to see every day.”
“Working with the students to bring their ideas to life was a rewarding experience that truly engaged them in the project,” said Mears, who is from Rockport and recently moved to Richmond, Maine.
Some O’Maley students who worked on the design last year were pleasantly surprised to see the sculpture installed last month.
“It’s cool to see the fish put up there. I didn’t think it would really happen!” O’Maley student Jacob McLain said.
The school of fish may not be alone on the school’s exterior walls for long. The Bruce J. Anderson Foundation and GEF are funding a second phase of the project this school year.
Those interested in donating to the art installation project may visit to www.thinkthebest.org/donate. Simply write “O’Maley Fish” under the Special Instructions on GEF’s donation page to make sure the money goes to this particular project.
Staff writer Gail McCarthy contributed to this report.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at [email protected].
By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer
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