Post by Gordon Parks admin on Jun 25, 2008 21:10:14 GMT
Gordon Parks' Academy for the Arts
Welcome to one of the best art schools in the world.
Students who are part of this Academy are as diversified as the arts that are taught here. Some are wealthy, though most of them come here with a scholarship. They are not all Americans, some come from other countries around the world.
Gordon Parks’ Acamedy for the Arts was not founded by the notorious artist who shares its name, but it was named after him as recognition of his amazing work as a photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist and film director.
The school believes in expressing your individualism and therefore has never instructed any sort of dress code or rules about the children's appearances, yet it is rare that a student will go beyond the lines of what’s acceptable and what’s not, seeing as they are free to be who they are and not repressed.
Most of the classrooms are always opened to students who want to practice their skill after class hours, under the supervision of cameras, obviously. Students are usually allowed to roam freely through the school if they don’t cause any trouble, and the curfew is set at midnight even on weekdays. It is the students’ choice if they want to stay up late, but they are expected in class at 8 sharp every morning.
To hold in all the classrooms, students and professors, this school has to be very large. The core classes are in the center of the building along with the lunch room, principal’s office, professional help, and all the administrative workers. On the ground level, the gymnasium – which is huge – takes most of the place, along with the indoor swimming pool and skating rink. In separates building, the girls dorms can be found to the right side, and across the campus on the left are the boys dorm buildings, placed strategically to keep them from visiting, though it doesn’t exactly work that well. The library is separate from the school as well, and as big and good as any college library, even better.
The Theater, situated behind the school, has a large and beautiful wood stage and red velvet curtains, completed by opera house like chairs for the audience – which is mainly constituted of professors and students, seeing as end of year productions take place outside the school. Though it is mainly used for the theatre students, anybody is welcomed to come in as long as it doesn’t disturb the performers.
In the lower right wing of the school, the Art rooms can be found. They are very light and airy, with many windows that overlook the school grounds. When the weather is nice, the teachers sometimes allow the students to head outside to paint or sketch, as long as they do what they are supposed to do. Next to those rooms are the rooms for Creative Writing students. There are several rooms, each constructed in a different manner depending on the student’s preference for inspiration – some look like normal classrooms, with desks and chairs. Others have more comfortable looking chairs and sofas across the room, and others merely have long and fluffy carpets covering the floor for them to lie down or sit.
The Photography studios can be found in the upper right wing. Each filled with several tables to look at the pictures more closely, they also all lead to a few dark rooms with revolving doors, in order to let no light in so that the other classmates are not bothered with their work. Photography students usually walk though the school and outside as they please, depending on the assignment they were given. The Vocal classrooms, also found in the upper right wing, are mainly recording studios. The walls were made so that no sound from the outside can come in, and nobody on the outside can hear what is going on inside. There are also some normal looking rooms, bigger and very light, where students practice as groups.
The Music rooms take more place than any other, mainly because of the very large instruments selection. With one room per instrument, each with wonderful acoustics, all students can practice their own talent without hearing their neighbors. The biggest rooms are those for the pianos, drums, guitars and violins, seeing as most student practice those instruments. There are no windows in those rooms, but the light is very bright so that the partitions are easy to read.
On the upper left wing, film students can be found working on their upcoming films. The film section is divided in two – one of which has wooden table and very comfortable chairs to work on scenarios and talk with group members about their ideas. Then, the other rooms, much bigger, are filled with upscale computers, the best that can be found for editing. There is also a smaller room, still big though, filled with camera equipment, where students go borrow what they need whenever they want.
Finally, also on the upper left wing, the dance classrooms can be found. Each room is made accordingly to the dance that is practiced in them. The rooms for modern dancing look more like studios, while the ballet rooms are furnished with two mirror walls and hanging bars that go around the room.
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