Our beloved kids’ arts festival is back! ClydeFEST, now in its 22nd year, returns to the East Lawn of the Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 14 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. From face painting, bubbles, and hula hoops to arts projects and good old-fashioned carnival games, ClydeFEST has an activity… Read More →
Artists-in-Schools 2023-24 Season
We are so excited to announce our 2023-24 Artists-in-Schools season–our ninth! We know the arts save lives, so we’re thrilled to continue bringing professional teaching artists into Chatham County classrooms! For the past eight years, our Artists-in-Schools Initiative has been growing, and we’re proud to bring our first traditional middle school residency to Chatham Middle… Read More →
AIS Stories from Last Season (2022/23)
We were thrilled to bring professional teaching artists into 15 schools across Chatham County in our 2022-23 Artists-in-Schools season. We’ll be announcing our 2023-24 season in the coming weeks, but for now, read all about the joy these residencies bring to Chatham County kids! Click any image below to learn more about each of these… Read More →
Phillip Shabazz Brings Poetry to the Pittsboro Elementary Pandas
North Carolina poet Phillip Shabazz brought the joy of the written word to Pittsboro Elementary this season, and a good time was had by all–even some administrators! Fourth-grade students were introduced to a number of different types of poems–rhyming couplets, lunes (3-line, 11-word poems), list poems, odes, and more. Mr. Shabazz also had students read… Read More →
Black Box Dance Theatre and Virtual Academy Zoom!
When Virtual Academy students in grades four through six shared one word to describe the first day of virtual dance workshops with Black Box Dance Theatre this May, their responses included: interesting, confusing, hilarious, fun, tiring, relaxing, different, and new. Unsure of how seamless learning a rap and a choreographed dance would be on their… Read More →
Drumming, Dancing, and an Ancient Art Form Flow into Silk Hope
The Magic of African Rhythm (TMOAR) visited Silk Hope for a 3-day Artists-in-Schools residency jam-packed with African dancing, storytelling, drumming, music-making, and the ancient art of Adinkra printing. Members of the Shabu family led workshops for fourth and fifth graders, and even performed for students and faculty. Students got up close and personal with African… Read More →
Mike Wiley Brings the Story of Henry “Box” Brown to Chatham Grove and JS Waters
Mike Wiley is a story teller, and he had a thrilling and important one for the kids at Chatham Grove and JS Waters. It was the story of Henry “Box” Brown, a slave who shipped himself to freedom in a wooden crate. Mike’s one-man play, One Noble Journey, was a smashing success with students on the… Read More →
Willa Brigham Stitches Together Songs, Poems, and Stories at Woods Charter
November brought cooler temperatures to Chatham County, but in a classroom at Woods Charter, the warmth of two-time Emmy award winner Willa Brigham was a welcome change. Students were introduced to the art of story-telling through textiles in this brand-new Artists-in-Schools residency. Willa demonstrated the basics of sewing, including how to correctly hold scissors,… Read More →
Sunday Sun Shines on ClydeFEST 2023
Friday morning. ClydeFEST set-up day. Saturday’s chance of rain: 95%. The entire county had watched the forecast closely all week, but on Friday, CAC made the tough call. For only the second time in 21 years, ClydeFEST would move to its rain date on Sunday. An army of volunteers from Bold Companies and the community… Read More →
Meet This Artist: Sanaiya Cheek
The Chatham Arts Council is investing in artists through our Meet This Artist series, introducing you to 12 Chatham County artists each year in a big way. The fine folks at Hobbs Architects in downtown Pittsboro are powering our Meet This Artist series this year. Architecture is art, and the Hobbs crew values art in our… Read More →