BVNW’s art department began a school-wide promotion today. The promotion was marked by mustaches, inviting students during lunch to take photos with fake mustaches and other props.

Art teacher Brian Pollack said the purpose of the mustaches was to make the promotion enticing for students.

“The mustache stuff is just fun, it’s just a way for people to engage,” Pollack said. “Everyone thinks mustaches are ridiculous and fun, so it’s a way to grab people’s attention while letting them know that art is an integral part of Northwest culture.”

Senior art student Anna Koz said although the art program’s size can fluctuate depending on student interest, she believes this promotion will help increase enrollment. Pollack said with so many other classes offered, he hopes this promotion will cause students will keep the art department in mind during enrollment.

“It seems like every year more options are added, whether it be our other wonderful departments at Northwest or different options at CAPS, so it’s just a way for us to kind of make people aware of us,” Pollack said. “We’re here and we’ve always been a strong department.”

Counselor Becky Coker said the number of students enrolled in a given department varies from year to year, and new opportunities and classes arise that might steer some away from art classes.

“There might be some shifting around, just as it is every year,” Coker said. “It’s just what’s the most popular…I feel like with each year there are more opportunities, so it’s up to the kids.”

Pollack said that the overall goal of this campaign is to not only increase awareness of the art department, but also to encourage students to enroll in art classes.

“Ultimately we hope to see that people continue to take art classes and people that maybe haven’t thought about taking an art class give it a shot and enroll,” Pollack said. “Hopefully we see bigger numbers and continue to get people that are invested in art.”

Koz said art is important to each and every student simply because it helps maintain a well-rounded psyche. She said she believes this is why students will benefit from the program one way or another.

“I think that with all the AP classes that everyone takes, you need art to balance it out,” Koz said. “[Art] isn’t as stressful as all your other classes and it’s also a little more expressive.”