The Arts at Bay
Instilling Innovative Thinking
The Bay School of San Francisco 35 Keyes Avenue San Francisco, CA 94129 www.bayschoolsf.org 2013-2014
printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks
The Arts at Bay Many solutions to life’s challenges are created in the laboratory of the artistic mind. Our arts program helps students solve problems, express individuality, improvise, welcome alternative ideas and further Bay’s mission to cultivate innovative thinking. Located in the nation’s largest urban national park, The Bay School’s 1,400-acre Presidio campus is a marvelous natural environment that uniquely facilitates students’ artistic development. Bay’s introductory and advanced courses in each field challenge students to find value in the aesthetic nature of all art forms and to become inveterate practitioners of the skills unique to creating art. Through the process of understanding and appreciating historical and contemporary works of art, students expand their own creative repertoire and gain confidence in their ability to express themselves beyond the studio or stage. Visual Arts Classes
Sculpture: 3D Foundations 1A and 1B Photography: Digital Imaging 1A and 1B Publication Arts: Yearbook Drawing 1A and 1B Painting 1A and 1B Video Production 1A and 1B
Performing Arts Classes
Dance 1A and 1B Drama 1A and 1B Intensive Performance Workshop Electronic Music Studio 1A and 1B Jazz 1A, 1B and 2
A Lifetime of Creativity Students at Bay develop artistic skills that will aid them in their scholastic, professional and personal lives for years to come. Students create sculptures with paper, board and wood; mix their own paint colors; operate digital cameras; manipulate images and place them in layouts; produce videos, podcasts and compositions; and perform plays, jazz standards and more. Access to this variety of classes and resources allows students to express themselves in multiple digital, audio, visual and physical mediums. At Bay we believe educating students for the future entails instilling in them the versatility necessary to travel among these mediums and choose the forms of expression best suited to address each situation.
Beyond the Blackboard Rather than absorbing a 50-minute lecture on art history before hurrying to their next class, students in 80-minute classes at Bay study the works of masters, experiment, fully develop their artistic ideas, participate in critiques and workshops and enjoy time for reflection on their experience. In one trimester-long art class at Bay, students benefit from as much instruction time as counterparts in semester-long classes. Rather than touching briefly upon topics and presenting one end-of-term project, students create artistic pieces throughout the term with continual coaching, guidance, instruction and acknowledgment of their accomplishments. Bay also gives students a chance to spur their creativity outside the classroom. In classes focused on drawing and painting for example, students visit museums such as SFMOMA, the Legion of Honor, the de Young and the Contemporary Jewish Museum at least twice a term. Drama classes take field trips to professional drama productions, and jazz classes partake of San Francisco’s vibrant jazz club scene. Visiting artists also supply students with additional perspectives on how to choose materials and reveal or conceal elements of themselves in their art.
Bay on Stage Each year faculty members produce three full-scale dramatic performances; students direct and perform their own one-act series every other spring. We encourage all Bay students to audition for roles. Performances in recent years have included the musicals “Footloose” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” and dramatic productions of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “The Laramie Project” and “Anatomy of Gray.” The Student-Directed One-Acts this past spring took place at Fort Mason Center’s Southside Theatre. The Bay Jazz Club performs regularly at school gatherings and off campus for community groups and schools. Students also comprise the pit band for school musicals, Bay’s after-school choir fills the halls and with beautiful music, and members of Bay’s dance program perform an inspiring mix of salsa, hip hop and traditional dances at all-school gatherings and special events on campus.