Have you ever wanted to dye your t-shirt using the shibori resistance technique? Or create a cyanotype selfie using light-sensitive chemicals? What about starring in your own music video? Well, Benjamin’s middle and upper school students will have the opportunity to do so this Friday, September 25 which will be the School’s first inaugural Fine Arts Day.

Continuing Benjamin’s tradition of its commitment to the arts – a cornerstone of the School that was put in place by Mr. And Mrs. Benjamin – Fine Arts Day will invite more than 30 artists from all over Palm Beach County to share their artistic expertise with more than 700 students on the upper school campus. There will be interactive sessions involving visual art, dance, poetry, improvisation, music, and much more!  Understanding that there are diverse areas of the fine arts will hopefully cultivate amongst students a lifelong appreciation of the various disciplines and the benefits that go along with them – nourishment of the mind, body, and soul. In addition, Fine Arts Day will expose the greater West Palm Beach area to Benjamin’s respect for the arts and attract potential candidates to TBS.

Middle School English Department Chair Mrs. Devine came up with the idea of Fine Arts Day, and it has been a joint effort between the middle school staff, led by Devine and Dean of Academics Dr. Cristina James, and the upper school staff, including Assistant Head of School Mr. Kendall Didsbury and Performing Arts Chair Mrs. Sara Salivar. “[There are] so many excellent choices for students to experience; there will be a variety of surprises, from  opera to hip hop,” said Devine, who also serves as chair of the middle school English department.

The middle schoolers will travel by bus to the Upper School Friday morning and each middle school advisory will be paired with an upper school advisory, allowing the students from both divisions to interact and get to know one another. Everyone will then file into Benjamin Hall to hear the day’s keynote speaker, Steven Caras, an award-winning photographer and former New York City Ballet dancer who studied under the legendary George Balanchine. Guest recording artist and piano-pop singer/songwriter Julian Velard will then treat the audience to a mini-concert/talk about his life as a musician.

The students will then be treated to a barbecue courtesy of Cheney Brothers before heading to their first of two designated sessions. What sessions students will attend will be kept a surprise until that afternoon, which should make the day even more exciting and special.

“I imagine it will be really fun and I hope I will be paired up with my brother’s [advisory] and I can’t wait!” said eighth grader Royce Howley. While expectations run high for this inaugural event, the hope is that it will become an annual tradition at The Benjamin School.

“I think it would be fabulous if we could do this every year,” commented Devine. “What an opportunity for the students.”