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Arts
The arts are central to student life at Avenues, both in and outside the classroom. Visual art, music and drama are emphasized not only as means of self-expression but also, critically, of building community. For inspiration, our students needn’t go far. Our campus proudly absorbs and reflects the incomparable artistic vibrancy of the Chelsea neighborhood, with passionate faculty, spacious facilities and ample resources devoted to the pursuit of the arts at Avenues.
Early Learning Center
Nursery and Pre-K
Art and music are woven into daily activities, including World Course units, circle time and creative play.
Kindergarten
+ Art in target language (Mandarin or Spanish)
+ Music in target language (Mandarin or Spanish)
+ Dance
+ Performing for peers in regular assemblies
Middle Grades
Art
+ Principles and elements of art
+ Materials and methods
+ Drawing lab
Music
+ Vocal workshop
+ Instrumentals
+ Advanced ensemble
Electives
+ Elements of Great Storytelling
+ Playmaking
+ Architecture
+ Fiber Arts
+ Art History
+ Painting
+ Printmaking
+ Graphic Design
+ Creative Construction
+ Illustration and Storytelling
Upper Grades
Grade 9
+ Introduction to Creative Process: Art (required)
Grade 10
+ Visual and Digital Arts Workshop
or
+ Design and Engineering Workshop
Electives
+ Introduction to the Creative Process: Orchestra/Band
+ Music Theory & Practice Workshop
+ Vocal Workshop
+ Advanced Music
+ Musical Theater
+ Music Theory & Practice
+ Mixed Media Studio
+ Film Arts
+ Fashion Illustrated
+ Senior Studio in Art
+ Skechbook Studio
+ Advanced Art Studio
+ Ceramcis Studio
+ Sculpture Studio
Arts by numbers
14
Upper grades arts electives offered in 2024—25
15
Works by world-renowned artists on the wall
22
Music, theater and arts facilities on campus
43
Visits to art galleries in the Chelsea neighborhood
8+
Instruments offered in private after school music lessons
10+
Arts-focused student clubs
6
Average number of public music performances each month
72
Visits to the High Line by the Early Learning Center
“The cornerstones of the music program are rhythm, student choice and abundant performance opportunities. We strive to learn through doing and playing, and seek to create community—both within the school and within the neighborhood.”
Brendan Dolan
Director of Music
“Two ideas drive the visual arts program at Avenues: first, that art is a means of communicating meaningful ideas; second, that students should be given the agency to establish a voice in their work.”
Kate Howard
Director of Visual Art
Arts Highlights
Past theatrical productions
2016-17
- The Winter We Danced (Mandarin and English)
- The Good Person of Manhattan (adaptation of The Good Person of Szechwan)
- Macbeth
- Pullman Car Hiawatha
- Cabaret: Travel and Moving On
2017-18
- A Year With Frog and Toad
- Spanish Language Cabaret
2018-19
- As You Like It
- Spanish-Chinese Cabaret
- Mamma Mia!
- Snow Angel
- Snow White (contemporary adaptation)
2019-20
- The Tempest
- Spanish Language Cabaret
- 7th Grade Freaks
- Les Misérables
2021-22
- Anon(ymous) (Naomi Iizuka’s adaptation of The Odyssey)
2022-23
- Upper Division Cabaret
- A Festival of Student Plays and Scenes (written and directed by Upper Division students)
- Dogg’s Hamlet by Tom Stoppard (directed by Upper Division students)
- As You Like It (Public Theater’s musical adaptation)
“The Avenues drama program centers on and celebrates community via the dynamic interactions between performer and audience. Throughout the year, we give students the opportunity to take the lead and create their own performances, whether as writers, directors, actors or designers.”
Alex Brinkman-Young
Director of Drama
Stages we’ve played
Student musicians from Avenues New York have been heard all around the city (and world).
Avenues Shenzhen
Beth Israel Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing
Cafe Wha?
Chelsea Piers
The Cooke Center
The Cowgirl Hall of Fame
The Cutting Room
Edna Cohen School, PS90 Coney Island
Feinstein’s 54 Below
Henry Street Settlement
The High Line
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
Hudson Guild
Maru-a-Pula School, Botswana
Manhattan Children’s Center
Mary Manning Walsh Home
The New Jewish Home
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
PS 372, Fort Greene
The Shed
Trinity Church
Arts after Avenues
Many of our graduates choose to pursue arts-focused higher education, and our college counseling system ensures they find an institution where they can flourish in their creative pursuits. Examples include:
- NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music (Richard W., class of 2016)
- USC Thornton School of Music (Teddy F., class of 2018)
- NYU Tisch School of the Arts - Film (Mingus R., class of 2018)
- University of Southern California - Film (Finn D., class of 2019)
- London College of Fashion (Helena S., class of 2019)
- Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (Lucia C., class of 2019)
- NYU Tisch School of the Arts - Photography (Ben K., class of 2019)
- Fashion Institute of Technology (Silas L., class of 2019)
- Wesleyan University - Film Studies (Stefano C., class of 2020)
- Cornell University - Architecture (Jonathan W., class of 2021)
- Parsons School of Design - Fashion Design (Naomi R., class of 2022)
