Chatham Arts Council

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October 31, 2025

Beats, Bass, Big Vibes: Beatmaking Magic

Black woman with long hair and glasses and Black man with glasses and knit cap work with digital music equipment in front of a class.

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.

By Amanda Moran | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: AIS, BandLab, beat making, Blackspace, Early College, moncure, Rem, Suzi Analogue

October 24, 2025

History Steps on Stage: When One Man Becomes Fifteen

Black actor in suspenders, white shirt, and brown paints. Onstage, he gestures while speaking in character.

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.

By Amanda Moran | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: acting, actor, AIS, artists-in-schools, Arts education, Dar He, Emmett Till, Mike Wiley, northwood, play, playwright, school performance, Seaforth, tenth grade, theatre, US History

October 22, 2025

¡Olé, Chatham! A Flamenco Celebration at Perry Harrison and Silk Hope

Flamenco dancer performs in red dress, with red shawl, as students watch.

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.

By Amanda Moran | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: AIS, artists-in-schools, Arts education, flamenco, flamenco vivo, perry harrison, school performance, Silk Hope

October 17, 2025

From Mumbai to Senegal: A Journey in Dance, Drums, and Heart

Colorful folk dance sticks in a pile on shiny multipurpose room floor at a school.

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.

By Amanda Moran | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: AIS, Bennett, bonlee school, Chatham County Schools, Diali Cissokho, Priya Chellani

March 13, 2025

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.”

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: African dance, AIS, artists-in-schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Diali Cissokho, drumming, george moses horton middle school, Horton, Middle school, Pittsboro, seventh-graders

March 13, 2025

Black Box Dance Theatre Collaborates with the Chatham Middle “Ram-ily”

This February, seventh-graders at Chatham Middle experienced a Chatham Artists-in-Schools dance residency with the artists of Black Box Dance Theatre–and it was linked with math concepts, too! Made possible by the cARTwheels funding through the NC Arts Council and private sponsorship through Carolina Credit Union Foundation, the week-long visit included dance workshops with students–and also… Read More →

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: AIS, art residency, artists-in-schools, Arts education, black box, black box dance, black box dance theatre, Chatham Middle, Chatham Middle School, dance, dance residency, school performance, seventh grade, Siler City

March 11, 2025

EbzB Productions Enhances EL Science & Writing Curriculum at Pittsboro Elementary

In January, Pittsboro Elementary School’s fourth-graders transformed into lively springboks, fierce opossums, armored armadillos, and gentle monarch butterflies under the excellent tutelage of actors Serena Ebhardt and David zum Brunnen of Ebzb Productions. Serena and David used learning tools from the dramatic arts to develop child-generated choose-your-own-adventure scenes, integrating concepts from the students’ current science… Read More →

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education | Tagged With: acting, AIS, artists-in-schools, Arts education, Arts in Education, Chatham County, david zum brunnen, EbzB, ebzb productions, pittsboro elementary, serena ebhardt, theatre

February 6, 2025

Poet Phillip Shabazz Visits Silk Hope School

Creative words warmed up a chilly week at Silk Hope School as Phillip Shabazz conducted his Powers of Poetry residency with fifth- and seventh-graders. “Art is an opportunity to express yourself.” –Mr. Shabazz Mr. Shabazz shared some of his own work, the words of others, and then let the students know that they would explore,… Read More →

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: AIS, art residency, artists-in-schools, Arts education, phillip shabazz, poem creation, Poetry, poetry residency, poetry slam, shabazz, silk hope school, student poetry

January 28, 2025

Bennett School Explores African Art with The Magic of African Rhythm

An African arts extravaganza arrived at Bennett School this past December. For two days, fifth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students traveled on a journey through Africa by dancing, drumming, storytelling, and print-making alongside Teli Shabu and his team of teaching artists, The Magic of African Rhythm. On the workshop days, each class rotated through spaces throughout… Read More →

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: Adrinka, African dance, AIS, artists-in-schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, chatham grove, chatham grove elementary, dancing, drumming, fifth grade, Magic of African Rhythm, print blocks, storytelling, teli shabu, the magic of african rhythm, tmoar

January 10, 2025

Mike Wiley Brings Theatre and Writing to Siler City and Virginia Cross

Mike Wiley residency

Siler City Elementary (SCE) and Virginia Cross Elementary (VCE) students and teachers enjoyed actor and playwright Mike Wiley’s solo performance of “One Noble Journey” this past November. In addition to the performance, Mr. Wiley hosted teacher and student workshops at both schools during his week-long artist residency in Chatham. An Audience-Fueled Performance: “One Noble Journey”… Read More →

By Jessica Rigsbee | Filed Under: Artists-in-Schools, Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, Slideshow Featured | Tagged With: acting, actor, AIS, art residency, artists-in-schools, Arts education, dance residency, fifth grade, Howard Craft, Mike Wiley, one noble journey, play, playwright, school performance, Siler City Elementary, theatre, Virginia Cross, virginia cross elementary, Writing, writing residency

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AIS Stories from the 2023/24 Season

Sparking Creativity: Blackspace’s Beat Making Lab at Chatham Middle featuring Grammy-nominee Pierce Freelon
Photo of Black man with dreads showing 3 middle school students the mixing board

Movement Matters: Silk Hope School and Gaspard&Dancers
Students play a game of making different shapes with their bodies through dance with the help of professional instructors inside a school multipurpose room.

Poetic Pursuits: Phillip Shabazz at Perry Harrison Elementary

Igniting the Flame of Flamenco: Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana at Moncure School

Mike Wiley’s Masterful Residency: Teaching through Theatre at Bennett and Bonlee School

Black Box Dancers Delight Fourth Graders at Pittsboro Elementary
Black Box dancers lead fourth graders in dance at Pittsboro Elementary.

Poet Phillip Shabazz Supports Fifth Graders at North Chatham Elementary
Poet Phillip Shabazz instructs a class of fifth grade students on poetry writing.

Black Box Residency Bursts with Creativity and Collaboration at J.S. Waters School

Diali Cissokho Dives Into Drumming with Siler City Elementary Fifth-Graders
Photo of three smiling boys, two brown and one black, sitting playing drums

Chatham Grove Elementary Students’ Sensational Safari with The Magic of African Rhythm
A young Black boy and a young white girl printmaking in classroom

Diali Cissokho Drums and Dances alongside Fifth-Graders at Virginia Cross Elementary


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