Young artists celebrate fancifully at Black Mountain Primary

A+ Art Gala showcases local arts and education

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
April 12, 2023

Students, parents, teachers and staff at Black Mountain Primary dressed to impress, April 11, as the A+ Art Gala celebrated the school’s commitment to blending art and education.

The black tie event, which included a red carpet welcome for many of the Swannanoa Valley’s youngest artists, featured a hundreds of pieces displayed throughout the campus.

BMP has held the designation as an "A+ School of N.C.," through the N.C. Department of Public Instruction in partnership with the N.C. Arts Council for over a decade, according to art teacher Jolie Atkins, one of the organizers of the gala. Training within the A+ Schools framework is a requirement for staff.

“We wanted to market this about our school to the community to let Black Mountain know that this is one of the many things that makes our school desirable and a special place to grow and learn,” Atkins said of the event. “This gala is an opportunity to renew our commitment to being an A+ school and refresh our passion for being an art-infused school.”

Musical entertain was offered by former primary school students while their Owen Middle classmates served hors d'oeuvres. Current Black Mountain Primary and Elementary students guided family and friends through the exhibit showcasing visual arts and movement artifacts from the art-integrated work that is standard in classrooms.

“Each student had one piece that we called an ‘art-ifact,’ which is art integration visual artwork created in class with their home room teachers,” Atkins said. “The subjects ranged from science, math, literature, social studies and even music.”

The work displayed in the exhibit highlighted the school’s commitment to infusing art into core curriculum.

“We want the community to know we’re an A+ school, and that’s unique,” Atkins said. “We are the only A+ School of N.C. in the Buncombe County School system, and we’re very proud of that.”

The A+ Schools of N.C. initiative is a whole-school transformation model that views the arts as fundamental to teaching and learning. Schools in the program develop a creative culture in which the state's mandated curriculum is taught through collaboration and multi-discipline integration, with the arts continuously woven into every child's learning experience.

The gala served to celebrate BMP’s long-standing tradition of utilizing the collaborative approach to learning.

“We know how to do art integration,” Atkins said. “It’s in our DNA.”

Photos of the Black Mountain Primary School A+ Art Gala can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.