Chatham Arts Council Brings Professional Artists to All 20 Chatham County District Schools for Second Consecutive Year 2026–2027 Artists-in-Schools season brings flamenco, jazz, poetry, theater, African drumming, beatmaking, dance and more directly into classrooms Get ready for another year of creativity in Chatham County classrooms. The Chatham Arts Council’s 2026–2027 Artists-in-Schools season will once again… Read More →
Artists-in-Schools 2025–2026: A Year Filled with Rhythm, Stories, Movement, and Magic
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… Read More →
“How do I join your band?” John Brown’s Big Band in Action
Like a New Orleans big band on the move, members of John Brown’s Little Big Band sauntered down the aisles of Jordan-Matthews High School—horns up, energy high—playing a jazzy rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” You could feel it immediately: surprise, curiosity, a few wide eyes—and then smiles. For some students from Chatham… Read More →
They Were Poets and They Didn’t Know It!
From December 1–12, poet and teaching artist Phillip Shabazz led a powerful poetry residency with 7th grade students at Chatham Middle School, guiding students through the craft of writing, the courage of self-expression, and the belief that words matter. “The pen is mightier than the sword. What does that mean?” He asked the students on… Read More →
Beats, Bass, Big Vibes: Beatmaking Magic
It started with silence. The kind of silence that hums with curiosity and anticipation. Then—boom—the bass dropped. Heads started nodding. Feet tapped. A few eyebrows lifted.Just like that, creativity had a new rhythm at Moncure School and Chatham Early College, where artists Suzi Analogue and REM from Blackspace turned ordinary classrooms into music studios for a week of beatmaking magic.
History Steps on Stage: When One Man Becomes Fifteen
Our Northwood and Seaforth tenth-graders saw a performance–and they also what happens when storytelling meets history. Because in Mike Wiley’s hands, history doesn’t feel far away at all. It’s standing right there, center stage in front of you.
¡Olé, Chatham! A Flamenco Celebration at Perry Harrison and Silk Hope
If you wandered into Perry Harrison or Silk Hope schools between October 20 and 22, you might have heard it first—a rhythmic tap, a guitar string hum, a voice lifting in song, and then… the magic of Flamenco. Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana brought a swirl of sound, color, and culture to fifth- and seventh-grade students as part of the Chatham Arts Council’s Artists-in-Schools program.
From Mumbai to Senegal: A Journey in Dance, Drums, and Heart
What do you get when your week starts in India and ends in Africa? At Bonlee and Bennett Schools, the answer was rhythm, laughter, a few sore muscles, a whole lot of learning–(and perhaps a bit of jetlag!).
From October 13–17, students traveled across continents over 6,000 miles—without ever leaving their school floors—through a two-part artist residency that began with Priya Chellani of Indigo Dance and wrapped up with Diali Cissokho, a master drummer and storyteller from Senegal.
Check Out the 2025-26 Artists-in-Schools Season Lineup!
Do you remember the first time something a teacher said to you “clicked?” That moment when you finally understood the difference between a metaphor and a simile? That’s what the CAC’s Artists-in-Schools Initiative is all about. By bringing professional artists into Chatham County schools, artists leverage the arts through interactive workshops that support teachers’ learning… Read More →
Diali Cissokho Drums and Dances with Seventh-Graders at George Moses Horton Middle
“Diali is truly remarkable with the kids!” said a Bonlee custodian who watched the workshops and performance. “He makes me want to have this kind of joy every day.”
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 8
- Next Page »