Sullins Academy Fills Cumberland Square Park with Art & Music

Sullins Academy students filled Cumberland Square Park with art and music on Monday, May 8. Mrs. Jill Wishon, Arts Instructor at Sullins, applied for and received a grant from the Art4Moore Foundation, based in San Francisco, CA. This grant will allow Sullins students to participate in an art project based on Synesthesia Syncopation.

Synesthesia is the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body. Syncopation is the musical rhythm in which stress is given to the weak beats instead of the strong beats. Students will be instructed to let their imaginations soar as they hear the songs the live band is playing. Visions of love, happiness, or sadness are some of the themes that the brain could produce. A local band, Symphony Rags, will be performing at the park and providing the music to inspire the student’s artwork.

After the listening portion of the project, the students will be instructed to quietly pick up their brushes. As the music continues, the painting will begin. Mental images come to life as the brain is stimulated by the feelings the music produces. The art is individual. It is unique. It is syncopated with the brain. The students’ minds will paint the pictures of the music in the air.

Once the artwork is complete, the finished pieces will be on display at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum during the Art d’Vine event on Friday, May 12. Sullins will close the art show with a private showing for students’ families and friends on Monday, May 15.

Sullins Academy places a strong emphasis on arts education. Numerous reports present the ways that increased access and involvement in arts education encourage students to succeed in school, succeed in life, and succeed in work. A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair, or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.

Sullins Academy is a premier co-educational, preschool through eighth grade independent day school serving Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. Sullins Academy develops students in grades PS-8 into confident lifelong learners who have the academic, character, and leadership skills to succeed in high school and beyond. Sullins Academy inspires minds and develops character.