In Support of Shorecrest Visual and Performing Arts

While I consider myself creative, I have never thought of myself as an artist. However I have been married to an artist for over 30 years, and he has helped me see the world through an artist’s perspective. I have come to realize that not only creating art, but also appreciating art, enriches everyone’s life, and that art should play an important role in the education of our children. At Shorecrest, visual and performing arts are integral to our curriculum.

With a strong belief that literacy in the arts is essential to the development of a well-educated person, Shorecrest provides its students with a robust array of cultural and intellectual arts opportunities.

The goal of Shorecrest’s Visual and Performing Arts is multifaceted: to educate students about the arts, to help them achieve at their highest level as student artists and to implant the seed of life-long appreciation for the arts. 

From Alpha to the Upper School, art is a part of life in the classroom. Age appropriate visual art projects abound, music captures the imagination, and theater opportunities are plentiful. Many students also participate in extra-curricular art activities, such as Middle School theatre, after school art clubs, a cappella singing groups, rock band, thespians and more. There are opportunities to participate in art showcases or to be in the chorus of a musical, and many remember our Lower School’s perennial Poetry in the Park. At Shorecrest we strive to create a learning environment where innovation and risk-taking are encouraged. Shorecrest experiences are brightened by fond memories in the Raymund Arts and Media Center, our art classrooms, our music rooms, and in the footlights of our Janet Root Theatre, where the Root family legacy continues to provide unique avenues for artistic expression for all ages.

Some of our alumni have gone on to become successful in the arts. Our graduates have attended RISD, NYU, Juilliard, SCAD, Columbia University School of the Arts, and other wonderful programs with awards in painting and theater. We have quite a representation of professional actors, whose careers can be traced back to their time at Shorecrest. 

In our society, and especially in schools, it seems as though there have been recent trends to minimize time and funding spent on the arts. I am proud that Shorecrest continues to emphasize arts as a part of well-rounded education and that we are committed to mission-driven opportunities for creative achievement. Shorecrest Visual and Performing Arts offers opportunities for students to take creative risks, explore new things, collaborate with others and grow as individuals. 

The visual arts and performing arts are vibrant entities at Shorecrest, bursting with enrichment in all grade levels and an extraordinary level of student participation. And we sincerely hope you are inspired to participate with your support of our Shorecrest Fund Giving Day, celebrating Visual and Performing Arts. While I may not be an artist, I admire art when I see it - and I see it every day among our students and faculty. This is how I renew my belief that not only creating art, but appreciating art, enriches everyone’s life. I am proud to say that at Shorecrest art plays an important role in the education of our children.

All the best, 
Nancy