On April 22, the EDDA Art and Literary Magazine held their annual showcase debuting the 2026 magazine edition.
EDDA is an art and literary magazine produced entirely by students. Writers and artists submit pieces for the print magazine that publishes every spring as well as the website, which functions all year round. EDDA Club members anonymously review pieces for choosing, as well as critique and copy edit submissions.
The showcase is organized by EDDA sponsor and creative writing teacher Sahar Mustafah, student members and the art department. Art teacher Rebecca Healy played a big part in the visual art display, printing and matting the images. The showcase, which took place in E1, featured performances from student contributors sharing and reading their pieces to the audience. Visual artwork is shown on a slideshow presentation that plays in the front of the room, as well as on display outside the room, where guests can find magazines to purchase and free refreshments.
“In judging pieces, we look for how you express yourself and tell a story through your art, not just the words you use but having meaning behind every sentence and phrase,” senior and EDDA club member Jared Bray shared.
The showcases have been put together every year since Mustafah took on the role as sponsor over 20 years ago. “My wish is always the same, that our incredibly talented students have a space where they can be celebrated for their creative work. I always hope that we get more and more people coming to celebrate,” Mustafah said.
The EDDA Club spends all year working towards the showcase. “The magazine especially is kind of the final send off for us and especially for seniors. It’s exciting, but it’s sad knowing that it’s time to go,” Bray said.
E1 was packed to the brim with a full house of family and friends, eager to support young artists. Everyone in attendance was invited to purchase magazines with the proceeds going into the EDDA budget for years to come.
“I think the thing that makes it unique is not so much the experience, because the programming is pretty much the same [every year],” Mustafah said. “It is the diversity of pieces that we get. The quality is always excellent, but the themes, the subject matters, those always surprise me every year.”
Club member Julianne Posey served as the emcee for the event, introducing the talent before they presented and eventually introducing herself to share her own art as the final piece of the night.
“I’ve been a member of EDDA for four years now so being able to emcee my last showcase was truly a full circle moment,” Posey said. “I was so proud of myself and of everyone there, everybody was on their A game. Every piece was so well written and so well performed.”
The magazine is essentially an outlet for all creators to express themselves. “Every person is an artist. Everyone has the ability to produce art. Every stick figure, every mistyped word on a Google Doc, everything is art and I feel not everyone realizes their true potential until they truly get into creating and reviewing art,” Bray said.
