If you listened closely across Chatham County this year, you might have heard the beat of a djembe drifting down a hallway, the stomp of flamenco shoes echoing through a gymnasium, a student poet finding their voice at the microphone, or a newly created beat pulsing through a classroom. That’s because the 2025–2026 Artists-in-Schools season was busy making a joyful noise all while integrating curriculum!
This year, the program touched all 20 Chatham County Schools–every fifth-grader, every seventh-grader, and every tenth-grader in the CCS district!–which makes the Chatham Arts Council the first to do this in the state. Along the way, 40 professional artists shared their talents, traditions, stories, and creative practices with students throughout the county. More than 1,350 students rolled up their sleeves and actively participated in artist residencies and workshops, writing poetry, creating music, dancing, acting, drumming, and discovering new ways to express themselves. Altogether, an estimated 4,000 students experienced an Artists-in-Schools performance, residency, or workshop during the school year. The impact wasn’t just visible in classrooms and performance spaces. It showed up in the feedback as well.
Of the students surveyed, 85% reported learning something new during their residency experience. Even more encouraging, 98% said they felt welcomed while participating. When students feel safe enough to try something new, creativity has room to grow. Educators noticed the difference, too. In our annual staff survey, 93% of respondents agreed that Artists-in-Schools programs are necessary and should be available in every school. The numbers tell part of the story.
The rest of the story lives in the moments.
It lives in the fifth grader who discovers they can keep a West African rhythm. The seventh grader who finds confidence behind a microphone. The high school student who realizes history feels different when performed live on stage. The classroom that becomes a dance studio, a poetry café, a recording studio, or a theater for a few magical days.
Throughout the year, students experienced that magic again and again. The season began with powerful storytelling as Mike Wiley Productions brought Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till to students at Northwood High School and Seaforth High School. Through theater, students experienced American history in a way that textbooks alone cannot provide—through emotion, empathy, and human connection.
Soon after, students were moving to entirely new rhythms. For the first time in our program, Bollywood dancer Priya Chellani introduced students at Bennett and Bonlee Schools to the vibrant energy, storytelling, and cultural traditions of Bollywood dance. Across the county, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana filled Perry Harrison Elementary and Silk Hope School with the passionate footwork, music, culture and traditions of flamenco.
Music took center stage in many forms this year. Students at Moncure School and Chatham Early College became producers, composers, and creators through Blackspace Beat Making Labs. Armed with technology and imagination, they learned how modern music is built one beat at a time, culminating in performances that showcased their original works.
At Virginia Cross Elementary, students explored the sounds and traditions of Latin music with Luke Vandergriff, another exciting new artist addition this season. Students made their own instruments from recycled materials and learned about the science of sound. Meanwhile, students at Siler City Elementary and North Chatham Elementary immersed themselves in the rich traditions of West African drumming with Diali Cissokho. Through hands-on workshops and culminating performances, students experienced firsthand how music can build community, tell stories, and connect cultures across continents.
Words found their own rhythm through poetry. Acclaimed poet Phillip Shabazz worked with students at Chatham Middle School and J.S. Waters School, helping young writers transform their thoughts, observations, and experiences into powerful spoken word performances. Poetry slams became celebrations of student voice, courage, and creativity.
The stage belonged to students as well. At Chatham Grove School, artists from EbzB Productions guided fifth graders through acting and creative writing experiences that taught alongside their language arts civil rights unit of study and encouraged imagination and self-expression. At George Moses Horton Middle School, Mike Wiley Productions brought the story of Henry Box Brown to life before leading students through theater workshops that explored character development, plot in storytelling, and performance.
Movement, math and storytelling came together through Black Box Dance Theatre residencies at George Moses Horton Middle School and Margaret B. Pollard Middle School. Students explored modern dance as a way to learn math equations and discovered how the physics of movement can express ideas, emotions, and stories in ways words sometimes cannot.
As spring arrived, the sounds of jazz filled the auditorium at Jordan-Matthews High School when the John Brown Little Jazz Band performed for students from Jordan-Matthews, Chatham Early College, ONE Academy, and Chatham Central High. The performance offered students a front-row seat to the artistry, collaboration, and joy that live music brings.
The stages have been cleared. The drums are quiet. The microphones have been unplugged. The final bow has been taken. But the impact remains. It remains in the confidence gained by a student who stood up to perform for the first time and said, “My mom was so proud of me.” In the curiosity sparked by a new culture, art form, or perspective. In the connections built between artists, teachers, and students. Students will remember the curriculum taught because it was engaging, creative, and most of all fun.
Thank you to our teaching artists, educators, administrators, families, and community partners who helped make this remarkable season possible. Now let’s rest up and get ready for next year!
Enormous Thank You to Our Artists-in-Schools Initiative Sponsors
Without the financial support of our sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to bring arts to schools in Chatham County. These folks are investing in a strong Chatham community through the arts.
If you or your company would like to support Artists-in-Schools with a financial contribution, please reach out to David O’Dell, our Director of Community Giving [link]. We would love to partner with you!
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