On June 17, 2024, GA US students embarked on a 5 day trip to NYC as a part of the GA Experience program (GAXP). To capture the interest of students and to encourage this deeper dive into learning to connect with our mission and the world in a meaningful way, two to four trips are designed each year in educational strands of service learning, nature, arts. The strands are planned for 12-18 students each, with a gender and age balance, and two faculty members per trip. To be considered for this exceptional program, students must apply and share in writing why they hope to participate.

The purpose of this trip was as follows:

1. Participants will reflect upon their experiences and express them individually, within their groups, and with the wider GA community.
2. Participants will learn, act, and explore independently, and they will experience the world around them through introspection and reflection.
3. Participants will live, learn, experience, and collaborate, reflecting upon their experiences as a group.
4. Participants will learn and show compassion for a wide and diverse world beyond GA.
5. Participants will immerse themselves with the same honorable and respectful approach to community expected of them at GA.

Head of School, Rich Schellhas 1760 states "GAXP NYC was a labor of love created by Bayard Templeton to give students from all different US grades an opportunity to immerse themselves in different aspects of the visual and performing arts in the Big Apple. I’m astounded by how much they did and saw in such a short period of time, and I loved hearing stories about new friendships forged and serious artistic inspiration received. This trip required students to step out of their comfort zones in multiple ways, and I’m proud of them for leaning into the opportunities presented."

Below is a day by day breakdown of the GA XP Arts Trip to NYC.

Day 1 (Brooklyn Museum and 54 Below)

 

Day 2 
Amazing workshop with award-winning playwright and actress Nilaja Sun (and two other theater professionals) in preparation for the closing performance of off-Broadway show King James. Students wrote their own scenes and then the actors performed them. 

The outside group photo has the shows two stars (Chris Perfetti from Abbott Elementary and Glenn Davis). Finished the day with a karaoke party.

 

Day 3
We started the day at the Museum of Modern Art, including a stop at their new Georgia O’Keefe exhibit (No pictures).  We then walked to Central Park to have lunch.  Students broke up into groups to discuss the artistic ideas they have been journaling.  We spent the afternoon in Times Square at the new Museum of Broadway (the photo is from The Chorus Line room).  We ended the day with sandwiches by a duck pond near our hotel and a group discussion in a gazebo about possible ways that students can share their individual projects with the GA community in the fall.

 

Day 4
Day 4 focused on visual arts.  We toured galleries in Chelsea with retired art professor Howard Rosenthal.  The tour included Yayoi Kusama’s latest show at the David Zwirner Gallery.  We had a family-style lunch in Chinatown.  We then met Betty Cuningham at her gallery who discussed the art world with students. She also gave them background on her current show, One Site,  where the landscapes of Rackstraw Downes and Stanley Lewis are juxtaposed.  We stopped by the new Drama Book Shop and Junior’s Cheesecake before heading to the hotel where each student shared their current ideas for their project and shared a reflection about an important moment or experience from the trip.

 

Day 5
We ended the trip at the Museum of Art and Design where one of their teaching artists gave us a tour of their exhibitions.  Students were then led in an activity where they created individual clay sculptures, modified one of their peers’, and then “curated” an exhibition of their classmates’ pieces.  We then caught a spectacular matinee of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

 

"To be given the opportunity to get 16 students with similar passions together for five days where they could explore those passions was one of the best experiences I have had as a teacher in my 20-year career. 

By being able to interact with and observe professionals in the visual and dramatic arts, and then to be given the time to feel fully immersed in those worlds without having to worry about upcoming homework assignments or assessments, students were able to focus and reflect on what the arts mean to them. They also built bonds across grade levels and across artistic interests.

On the last night of the trip, students shared ideas for their respective projects that they will complete over the course of the summer. Students will be using a variety of media and will be using a variety of experiences from the trip for inspiration. This makes me very excited to see what they will bring back to share with the GA community in the fall."

- Bayard Templeton