03 Mar WCC Digital Arts Center Illustration & Animation Showcase
WCC Digital Arts Center Illustration & Animation Showcase:
Taking Students from Hobby Art to Sustainable Careers
By Joshua Anderson for the Peekskill Business Improvement District
A month-long public showcase opened February 12, 2026 at the Westchester Community College Center for the Digital Arts, displaying student portfolios from a 10-week illustration and animation workforce certificate program.
Participants ranged from beginners to experienced artists. According to Professor David Abrevaya, “If you can get through this program, you’re in an amazing category.”
Comic strips, character designs, scene illustrations and animated concepts lined the gallery walls as students discussed their portfolios with inquiring visitors.
“I had the chance to review the portfolio of student illustrator certificate graduate Isabella Slezak. She answered all of my questions in a professional manner and said she was looking forward to participating in other galleries. She was definitely proud of her work—and she should be,” said Bill Powers, Executive Director of the Peekskill Business Improvement District, who attended the event.
The reception drew a large crowd to review the student portfolios, view the large wall hangings of their art, and watch TV screens of their animation.
Professor Abrevaya, along with Professor Emmanuel Jaquez Reyes and Director Dr. Sherry Mayo gave remarks at 12 at 27 North Division St., where the work was displayed.
Abrevaya teaches Illustration and 2D Animation while Reyes teaches the 2D Animation certificate program. Students traditionally start with Abrevaya’s individual program before moving onto Reyes’ program.
The exhibition runs for four months through April 23, 2026.
This public event offers emerging artists an opportunity to share their creative work within the community and make connections with potential clients. The training for these programs focuses on portfolio development, storytelling and meeting professional deadlines.
While Professor Abrevaya encourages his students to learn from their favorite artists, he focuses on teaching and reinforcing the fundamentals of drawing to pull out their own style.
“The style’s within. It comes out as you start to grow your skills and your technique,” Abrevaya said.
The students are treated as working professional artists with strict guidelines, where missing a deadline reflects real-world consequences, including grades and course completion.
The program is designed to be collaborative. Artists critique each other’s work to improve.
“I’m trying to create a community of artists for us to come together, collaborate and explore synergies,” Abrevaya said.
From rock musicians to retail workers, the class is filled with artists from varied backgrounds and ages.
Terry Orlando, previously a touring musician, entered the program after a decade of making DIY comics and selling them at art shows. He enrolled to pursue comics professionally.
“Now I feel equipped to actually start creating books,” Orlando said.
His featured work depicts an accident that tears a portal into another world. The piece is part of a planned graphic novel.
Gwenevere Vargo is a recent graduate from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Her focus is character design, and she plans to pursue it professionally.
“It was great, don’t get me wrong, but David [Abrevaya] has just given me so many great opportunities, feedback and advice, and organizing events like these,” Vargo said.
She is currently working on a comic called “Devil Dog” and plans to kick-start it, with intensive promotion, after she finishes the pages.
After some time in retail, Isabella Slazak, mentioned earlier, returned to the art arena to reinvest herself into her passion of narrative illustration. What she had lacked in the past, this program helped provide for her.
“I needed deadlines, and having this class helped me create those,” Slazak said. She is now producing two comic pages per week with plans to publish a comic book.
Remy Sainsot also took an alternative path to reach this program. Sainsot left traditional college, saying its structure did not fit their learning style.
They instead found success in this program’s hands-on approach. Its functionality as a professional simulation gave Sainsot a strong foundation.
“It’s been good but intense, which reflects the reality of the art field. It’s been a valuable learning experience,” Sainsot continued. “I started off shakier. Through class input and critique, there’s been significant improvement.”
Sainsot aims to continue pursuing illustration, with a future interest in game development.
“We have highly trained and talented people here that the community should engage with,” said Director Dr. Sherry Mayo.
By combining technical drawing education, animation training and professional expectations, the program positions participants to move beyond hobby art into sustainable creative careers.
The WCC Digital Arts Center will continue to display the artwork through April 23, from Monday-Saturday, generally 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.; hours may differ on some days.
Program costs and availability are shown on school’s website. You can reach the Peekskill extension for more information at 914-606-7300 or online at sunywcc.edu/locations/peekskill.
To contact Director Mayo directly, sherry.mayo@sunywcc.edu or 914-606-7385.
(C) 2026 Peekskill Business Improvement District. Photos by Joshua Anderson. Edited by Bill Powers. If you are a downtown destination business, and would like to be considered for an upcoming profile article, please email us at peekskillbid1@gmail.com.
