Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts

It was a night of activism and performances. On June 5th, Sophomores from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Full Day came together to raise awareness of a multitude of issues. The event, titled “Social Justice Extravaganza,” was organized by English teachers Julie Nunes and Caine Schlenker. Approximately 90 people were in attendance at Hartford’s Studio 224 where young artists performed original poetry, music, interpretive dances, monologues, and spoken word.

Children in foster care travel frequently from home to home and many times it is at very last minute notice. In 2013, a organization called “Comfort Cases” was formed to supply children in foster homes with a duffel bag along with essentials. Very recently, students from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Full Day and elementary students from CREC Ana Grace Academy teamed up to help raise funds for Comfort Cases...

High school students are using art to teach others about positive self-image. Art students in the “Creativity in the Community” class recently created posters to hang at Ana Grace Academy, an elementary magnet school focused on the arts. The posters are on the theme of positive self-image with messages such as “Only You Can Define You,” “don’t let others arrange you, Be yourself,” and “Don’t Dream It, Be It.” The work was requested by Justin Banks who works as the director of the arts for Ana Grace.

Three poets from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts have won the Fresh Voices Poetry Contest and will now go on to read at the prestigious Sunken Garden Festival this summer. The Fresh Voices competition is a program put on by the Hill-Stead Museum where local youth poets write and perform poetry that is suitable for publication.

The votes are in and once again, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts has been rated “Best Magnet School” by readers of Hartford Magazine. Every year, a poll is taken of readers in various categories who submit their choices of for restaurants, shops, schools, and other professional services.

Musicians from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts ended their week dancing to the sounds of funk. On Thursday, April 21, music students all gathered in the recital hall where they were given a free concert from Afro Cuban Funk group Cimafunk. The concert was just one of many stops on their northeastern tour which included Hartford’s Real Artways that same night.

An Academy student has been recognized for her artistic contribution to bring awareness to the need for organ donors. Donate Life CT is a group whose sole purpose is to increase the number of registered organ donors in the state. Every year, the group holds a poster contest for high school artists in order to raise awareness to teenagers as they approach driving age...

Being able to bring a classic animated film like Anastasia — a film I grew up on — is so exciting and a little scary,” Bowman admitted. “I didn’t realize until we started the tour how huge the Anastasia following is, which means they are all aware of the show, the story and music. It became the entire company’s goal to create a show that would meet or surpass their expectations. We have many people at the stage door every night expressing their love for both the film and the musical.

Creative writing students at CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts high school keep receiving recognitions for their amazing poetry and prose winning scholarships and awards from local writing groups. One of these organizations is The Connecticut Writers’ Contest, an annual statewide competition for students grades K-12. Thousands of submissions are submitted annually for consideration. Each grade level gets one winner which is published in CT Writers’ Magazine. In addition, many submissions receive honorable mention.

The collaboration of artistry and friendship five years in the making continues on. Since the fall of 2014, students from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Creative Writing/Media Arts department and high school students from the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford have collaborated on an ongoing poetry project, but it is so much more than that. Roughly twenty students, ten from each school, participate...

Several creative writers from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts have been recognized for their poetry and essay writing with some taking home the top regional prize. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a regional and national awards program that honor students from grades 7-12 within the 29 categories of art and writing. Submissions are judged first locally by a panel of accomplished visual and literary artists. Panelists look for works that exemplifies a student’s personal artistic voice, originality, and technical skills.

Students at the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts lent their time and hearts in a spirit of helping a city stay warm. In an initiative called “Keep Hartford Warm,” students Ashley Harris, Trinade Gonzalez, Libby Veneziano, and David Lawrence volunteered their time to hand out winter coats and other necessities to the homeless and sheltered of the city.

A freshman from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts recently performed at a party celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sheff vs. O’Neil court case. In front of a crowded room at the Hartford Public Library, freshman vocal major Andrea Sims sang The Beatles “Blackbird.” Present in the audience was Elizabeth Horton Sheff, mother of the lead plaintiff Milo Sheff.,,

Hamilton, the Broadway sensation, has come to Hartford and the Academy had a chance to take in the show and do a little performing themselves. In front of packed audience, students Justin Williams and Amareon Blackman performed together an original piece . The opportunity came by in September when The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a non profit that supports K-12 history education, asked for proposals from area schools on history projects centering on U.S. colonial times.

Visual Artists from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts made a holiday tree with a beautiful message of love and inclusion. “Our Beautiful LGBTQ World” is the title of the work that was installed this past weekend at the Wadsworth Athenaeum for their annual “Festival of Trees.”

We say that Academy is family and nothing proves that more than the giving spirit amongst us. Because of the generosity of students and faculty, seventeen homes from within the Academy family got to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner. Donations were of non-perishable items. The collection drive started on October 29 and ended on November 16 for the Thanksgiving break...

When the Hartford Foundation For Public Giving, a non-profit serving the capital region, announced new community grants for the 29 Hartford area communities, they turned to former Academy student Zoe Chatfield (class of 2013) to write a song for the event and current students to perform it. Chatfield, who works for the branding firm CO:LAB, wrote the catchy song titled “29 Strong” about importance of communities uniting for the sole purpose of building growth.

Another school year and once again visual artist from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts held their Empty Bowls fundraising event. Lead by artist instructor Ann Baldwin, ceramic bowls were created by herself and students in the department. They were sold for a suggested donation of $5, $10, and $20 during a delicious potluck dinner provided by faculty and families of the Academy.

Megan Collins, artist instructor from the Academy Creative Writing department received a publishing deal from Touchstone/Simon & Shuster for her original novel. “The Winter Sisters”, which will be available this coming February, is a story about a woman who is dragged into her past and forced to confront secrets surrounding her sister Persephone’s unsolved murder..

Public poetry readings, an original film debut, and an award winning story. It has been quite a successful summer for Creative Writing/Media Arts students from the Academy

Visual artists from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts have found more opportunities to share their talents in a way that gives back. Students from the Creativity in the Community class have teamed up with Mercy Housing and Shelter in Hartford in providing baby blankets to new mothers in need.

A select group of students from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts had just earned college credit from UConn. Through a program called “Early Learning Education,” seventeen high school visual artists took a college level course designed by the university called “Drawing 1030...”

A group of high schoolers from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts took a trip down to CPTV to attend a public forum with noted visual artist Cbabi Bayoc. In what was billed as a Father’s Day discussion, Bayoc discussed with the students his “365 Days With Dad” project. This particular work...

Sometimes it takes nothing more than a song and a little companionship to make someone’s day. That’s exactly what the Academy Therapy band did just last week. The class, taught by artist instructor Jeff McQuillan, is a musical group with the aim of healing and bringing together community. On Wednesday, June 6, the group took a journey across the river

College may still only four years away, but as the saying goes; you can never begin too early. At least that was the vibe among freshman at the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. On May, 23, forty freshmen traveled to Eastern Connecticut State University

Students in 3D recycled Art organized a runway show for the Visual Arts Spring Exhibition. Eight different looks were modeled by student volunteers from the Visual Arts department.

UConn students took time out of their busy academic lives to continue a dialogue with high schoolers from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and Impact program. Earlier this year, these same high school students toured the UCONN campus where they also attended a symposium to... discuss with UCONN students their experiences

They create and give. Visual artists from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts used their art to create warmth for new born babies. The class is called Creativity in the Community and it is taught by artist instructor Nancy Doherty who was looking for a way to have the kids give back...

It is a friendship five years in the making. On Thursday April 26, ten creative writing students from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, along with students from the American School of the Deaf, came together to share their work at the Universalist Church in West Hartford. In what was part of the Riverwood Poetry Series...

Two poets from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts will have a chance to read their original works this summer. On April 27, Academy juniors Alex Nordlund and Rachel Justice shared their work at the Fresh Voices Poetry Competition at the Hillstead Museum in Farmington...

The Academy has generated some great artist connections over the years. Therefore, when the school decided to perform A Chorus Line for its 2018 spring musical, they invited someone from the hit Broadway show’s original cast with connections to CREC and the Academy...

The votes are in and once again the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts is rated as the top magnet school in Connecticut for 2018 by readers of Hartford Magazine. Every year, readers from around Greater Hartford vote on various categories such as favorite restaurant, museum, magnet school, parks and others.

Young people from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High and Middle schools had a chance to look beyond their secondary school years into college. In April, students traveled to UCONN to attend a symposium to hear a panel of college students discuss their experiences.

Some prestigious recognitions have recently been awarded to various staff members of the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. First, visual artist instructor Francine Gintoff, has had her own work featured in National Drawing and Print Competitive Exhibition. She is one of 28 featured artists out of 500 applicants...

Visual artists from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts took a chance at a little acting while studying the artwork of Edward Gorey. During a unique field trip experience, visual arts students from Nancy Doherty’s Creativity in the Community class ,,,

Two works of student photography are currently featured in “Upward Canvas,” an art show hosted by Upward Hartford. Lenis Pereira-Ortiz, a sophomore from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts will have his photos, “Untitled” and “Fill In the Blank” on display

Half-day Creative Writing/Media Arts junior Alex Nordlund will be attending Breadloaf's New England Young Writers' Conference (NEYWC) from May 17 to May 20. To audition for the conference, which is open to students nationwide, he submitted a poem entitled "Writing Poetry." This poem earned him one of the seventy spots for poetry.

A student from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts is the latest winner of The Wallace Stevens Poetry Scholarship. The scholarship is an award of $1,000 granted to a high school junior or senior living in the city of Hartford from the ” Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens.

A Creative Writer from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts is one of a select few to win Hartford Stage’s “Write On” program. Sophomore Sophia Ciraldo original work “Take Me Somewhere” had been selected to go through the program’s process of mentorship and development which will take place over the next few months. After which, her play will be performed

A theater major from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts’ had recently gained recognition for an original piece of work.

A Creative Writer from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts is one of the latest from the school to win several Scholastic Writing Awards for her poetry. Now she has a chance to continue on nationally.

On Saturday, January 20th, Academy students participated in Keep Hartford Warm, an initiative organized by Academy English teacher Greg Garcia. Senior Nikki Ponticelli, junior Megan Torres, and sophomore Richanny Rodriguez volunteered to distribute clothing to the homeless and sheltered in Downtown Hartford's Burr Mall,

What are the true fundamental elements that they need to have in order to move on?" The answer came to her when she looked at what her students were getting in their other classes. "I had to figure out how Graham technique informs the body in ways that other techniques don't address," she says.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) hosted their annual Light the Night Walk in Bushnell Park this past October. This year, a senior from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts chose the event to celebrate her friend and fellow classmate, whose loss was felt deeply throughout the Academy family last year.

While students at GHAA, all three alumni Joe, Trezon, and Mytisha, performed in Choreographers’ Showcase concert so they are delighted to return now as guest choreographers.

It was a night of meeting parents, enjoying food, and taking in some student artwork all while helping victims of the latest hurricanes.

Local musical theater students had a taste of greatness as renowned choreographer, actor, and dancer Maurice Hines spent an afternoon with them. Twenty seven students from CREC’s Greater Hartford Academy work-shopped with Hines

Young people from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts took time out of their school day to bring a smile to residents at a local assisted living facility

Visual Arts Students donate mural

Looking In Theatre has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Katharine Hepburn Award. On Thursday November 16, Looking In Theatre will be recognized among six other civil rights leaders and legends from Connecticut at the third annual Civil Rights

"What are the true fundamental elements that they need to have in order to move on?" The answer came to her when she looked at what her students were getting in their other classes. "I had to figure out how Graham technique informs the body in ways that other techniques don't address," she says. "My students get regular ballet class, which informs their arms and legs very well. I work on informing their torsos." Stroud puts a strong emphasis on contract, release and spiral, so that her students become adept at using their spines.