Westbrook Elementary School PTA
5110 Allan Terrace, Bethesda, MD 20816
Artist in Residence - update pending for 2019-20
2018-2019 Artist in Residence (AIR) Program
Exposure to the arts has been shown to have a positive impact on a child’s cognitive, artistic, social and psychological development.
How fortunate we are at Westbrook to have a strong and vibrant Artist in Residence (AIR) program where students at every grade level can have meaningful exposure to the arts in a way that supplements the MCPS curriculum.
The Artist in Residence program is funded by the PTA, through your generous contributions.
Over the years, students have worked with amazing artists through one- to two-week residencies, all designed to provide a creative and enriching experience for our children. This year’s 2018-2019 Artist in Residence program will offer a mix of visual and performing arts.
Each grade works collaboratively with an artist to learn an art form. The focus of the residency is aligned with a topic from that grade’s curriculum. Some grades work with performing artists creating and performing operas, musicals, song parodies or plays. Other grades work with visual artists creating mosaics, paintings or clay murals, for example.
During a grade’s residency the artist will hold 5-10 workshops with each class. Each residency culminates with either a performance for families and students or a completed piece of artwork to be hung at Westbrook and enjoyed by the school community for years to come.
Thanks to generous contributions from Westbrook families, the PTA is able to fully fund the AIR program to make these residencies possible. We could not do this without your support!
Stay tuned to hear about artists who will working with all students this year.
Last year’s lineup was as follows:
Kindergarteners learned the art of the Opera with Mary Gresock of Odyssey Opera Theater. Students created and performed for parents their own mini-operas based on the books Giggle, Giggle, Quack and Click, Clack, Moo — Cows That Type.
1st graders performed with Synetic Theater. Each first grade class created and performed different sequences of Little Red Riding Hood,
via performance/pantomime art, which is all about telling a story through actions and setting, without using words.
2nd graders embroidered a “Cultural Tree” with Suzanne Herbert-Forton. Each student designed and embroidered their own leaf to collectively create a cultural tree, using styles from different parts of the world which they learned about during their residency. The tree will be hung at Westbrook for all to enjoy.
3rd graders wrote and created parodies with Singer/Songwriter Alden Phelps last November. Their songs were based on three different stories that students had studied; "Boxes for Katje,” “Let’s Get a Pup: Said Kate,” and “Ooka and the Honest Thief.”
4th graders wrote and performed hip-hop songs with Bomani Armah, who we welcomed back for a second year. Bomani taught students
hip-hop songwriting and fine tuned their creative writing process with poetry and verse writing skills. Fourth graders performed for fellow students and families.
5th Graders produced, directed and performed the musical Shrek, Jr. in June 2018, led by Gianne McNeil, Westbrook’s Music Teacher.
Students in Westbrook’s ED Cluster Program created another beautiful set of murals with Carien Quiroga, Mural Artist. This time, Ms. Q
worked with students to create fused glass pieces to form a mural which will be hung along one of the halls looking out to the front of
school. We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County which funded much of this residency.
**Questions or if you’d love to help out — reach out to Chris Dixon Barone, Artist and Residence Chair, at chrisandsam@mac.com