Asheville School students to perform at Asheville Art Museum – Dec. 1st
November 15, 2017
Students involved in Asheville School’s art offerings learn from local artists and gain hands-on experience in galleries and museums across the area. As part of this initiative, on Friday, December 1, Asheville School students will perform original, multidisciplinary responses to artwork at the Asheville Art Museum on the Slope. Their performances will take place within the museum’s exhibition for patrons to consider as they walk through the gallery.
The students will respond to the Museum’s exhibit, “Unwrapped: Gifts from the Peter Norton Family Christmas Project.” Their performance, “Art Beats: A pulse of Multidisciplinary Responses to Art,” will take place at the Asheville Art Museum on the Slope at 5:30 p.m. with a second performance at 6:30 p.m.
“Unwrapped” is made up of artwork created by burgeoning artists and selected by Norton Antivirus creator Peter Norton. “Every year since 1988, technology entrepreneur and avid collector Peter Norton commissions an artist to create an original work of art that is then produced in multiples and sent to friends and select museums,” writes Asheville Art Museum.
According to Asheville School Chair of Fine Arts Kathy Leiner, students had a chance to tour the exhibit and reflect on the artwork. They personally selected compelling pieces, and after reflection on what makes those pieces meaningful, they will distill their thoughts into dance, spoken word, and lyrical responses to the artwork in the exhibition.
Leiner says that creating these performances will build students’ capacity to think critically about art and bolster their confidence in speaking about their own creative work. “Students will look at elements of art and how those elements cross disciplines,” she said. “I am excited to facilitate as they learn about the creative process and critical response methods in order to deepen their exploration of art. This performance is about inquiry and helping students see artwork through varied lenses.”
Asheville School is a nationally acclaimed co-ed, college preparatory boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12. The 288 students enrolled at Asheville School represent 21 states and 14 countries. Recent graduates have been accepted to Amherst, Columbia, Davidson, Duke, Elon, Emory, Furman, Georgetown, Harvard, NC State, Rhodes, Sewanee, UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, William & Mary, WashU, Wofford, and Yale among others.