Sparking Creative Thinking on Arts Day

As part of yesterday’s Arts Day, cellist Erika Nielsen performed for Greenwood, inspiring students to consider all that goes into learning to play an instrument so expertly and passionately and making a profession of it. She linked her performance with her life story and the importance of self-care and nurturing her mental health. Karina Rotenstein, our second guest speaker for the day, opened students’ eyes to the world of film and the imagination required to create movies. I saw a spark in several students today when they had the opportunity to try a new artistic activity. The arts have such a way of bringing out creativity and innovative thinking. 

Recently, during an art history unit, some of our students learned about influential artists and architects such as Frank Gehry, Kehinde Wiley and Leonardo da Vinci. I wish I knew more about curious minds like that of Leonardo da Vinci: what helped him to develop his intellect and inspire his curiosity and creativity? Was it art that inspired him to invent and look further into the laws of science? Arts Day seemed to me to be such a fantastic way for all students, whether their current interests lie in science or art, to spark creative thinking and imagination and get their minds working in a way that differs from their day-to-day courses. For others, it was a day out of the usual routine enjoying new artistic endeavours. After all, it is hard not to smile while you are hip-hop dancing, stage fighting or applying zombie make-up.

Grade 10 students spent the day at The Second City. I hope that this was a great day for our aspiring comedians and performers; ideally, our students had the chance to laugh and to enjoy the feeling of making others laugh. Comedy is another medium that I think is both an art and a science, and I am in awe of people who, with brilliant writing and practised timing, have mastered the skill of making people laugh. I hope our Grade 10s bring this laughter back to Greenwood.

Our Grade 11 and 12 students, having experienced Arts Day in prior years, spent the day on postsecondary visits, also hopefully sparking interests and helping them to learn more about the next steps beyond Greenwood. I hope that Greenwood students will always make time for the arts in their lives!