BCS debuts art studio for new school year
As the visual arts program at Briarwood Christian School has grown over the years, the space they were in became too small to accommodate the needs of the program.
“We were serving over 340 students in our visual art classes at the Upper School in only two small classrooms,” Department Chair Belinda Youngblood said.
About five years ago, the board and school began to look at creative ideas that would benefit the fine arts students, focusing on the visual arts program that had grown so much.
The plan was to transform the space across from the Barbara B. Barker Auditorium into a new fine arts studio. That unused space would be repurposed for the art program’s continued growth and development.
“What we have seen is a huge interest in our student body for the fine arts. It’s just been a really exciting time for our school,” Youngblood said.
The announcement about the project was made during the end of the school year at the fine arts festival. The gymnasium was filled with people and over 5,000 pieces of art. Youngblood said there were students who were crying because they were so excited.
“It’s something they always dreamed would happen at their school and the opportunity to help that program grow and come to life was a very sweet encouraging time,” she said. “The momentum and excitement was off the charts.”
A NEW SPACE
All students at BCS are required to have at least one fine art class to graduate. Youngblood said they usually find out that they want to take more.
“Part of the curriculum will offer advanced art class and two honors classes. Students work on their portfolio through their senior year to get them get recognized by colleges,” she said.
The new visual arts space will be one large room that can be divided in two with a partition. Youngblood said it’s meant to be open so they can rearrange and allow for options to grow with the students and their interests.
It will provide a place for students to create, build community and work together. They can also come in during their free time to work on projects.
“The old art room will become solely for junior high art students and provide a facility which we feel will be a great space for them,” Youngblood said.
OUTSIDE PARTNERSHIPS
The BCS fine arts program does outreach with local organizations in the community and also internationally. They have student artwork that’s permanently on display in China, Haiti and New Zealand. Some are also featured in pamphlets in Iran.
“We partner with places within the community downtown and other things where we really can do what we can we do to help use our gift and abilities,” Youngblood said. “One of the amazing things we have as a private school is the ability to take the students off campus and have opportunities with other artists in our community who train them and help expose them to different art forms.”
BCS Superintendent Stephen Steiner said that while learning how to be technically proficient is important, the heart behind what they do is for the glory of God and being a blessing to the city and community. He believes the new space will be a way to create more opportunities for the students who have been limited due to scheduling and spacing.
“We really have an outward focus in our visual arts program to use our gifts and abilities so we can have the opportunity to encourage others,” Steiner said.
The new visual arts facility will be ready for students this fall.