From Chamblee OnStage to Advanced Orchestra to Beginner Guitar, Chamblee High School offers so many ways to be involved in all things fine arts. Art isn’t just oil painting or sketching, but a field of study that is rich in creativity and exploration. No matter what students are involved in, fine art plays an important role in school; Chamblee has a whole building for it!
For Blue Allmon (‘27), art allows him to express emotions that can’t be conveyed through words.
“It’s self-expression,” said Allmon. “You can put out a feeling into the world that you wouldn’t normally tell people, and it gives you an outlet for all those emotions and those things that you never want to say.”
Ronit Nemenman (‘26) said art is so important because it provides community and allows for improvement.
“For me, [art class] is a community to be a part of and a way to learn more about the arts so that I can improve with others’ advice,” said Nemenman.
Ms. Kimberly Landers, one of the art teachers at Chamblee, agrees, believing that art is so much more than the class grades and final products.
“In my opinion, it should be required for everybody, because even if you’re not an artist, you need the 21st-century skills that studying and practicing art develops, like critical thinking and creativity,” said Landers.
Mr. Timothy Simmons, the CHS chorus and musical theater teacher, also said that the art of music benefits students beyond the scope of the class.
“Statistics show that kids in music class usually do very well on standardized tests and things of that nature,” said Simmons.
Mr. Simmons also went on to say music, the “universal language” as he called it, fosters relationships and helps students get more comfortable presenting in front of people.
Ms. Landers said she helps some students harness their excitement to allow their ideas to blossom, a vital lesson.
“[Some students are] so creative and so excited by [art], and sometimes we have to rein that in,” said Landers. “Being able to control the plethora of ideas to a degree that you can actually be productive is useful in any field of study.”
Megha Gurram (‘27) remarks on her time in orchestra sophomore year and visual arts freshman year, saying it helped her learn how to draw better and play the violin. However, Gurram said the timing of orchestra concerts/ events with band and chorus events is inconvenient.
“The county and [CHS] like to time all these events on the same day at the same time, which I think is stupid,” said Gurram. “So we could definitely use some improvement on that, but I think that the programs are already great and it’s already such a great thing to be involved in.”
CHS has spoken: art and music are such vital subjects in high school for expressing emotions, learning how to harness creativity, and exploring concepts taught in other classes. Many students and teachers alike believe art and music are subjects all students should take because the classes are so much more than canvases and sheet music. Art takes effort and dedication, but teachers like Ms. Landers believe the benefits are unmatched.
“You can get better at anything you practice,” said Landers. “You just have to decide how much time you’re willing to put into something you want to learn.”
