The arts create connection and community.

That is why United Arts was proud to partner with the Wake County Public School System and Crabtree to present Arts Night on May 6, featuring 2021 Gifts of Gold participants and a pop-up gallery showcasing student artists.

More than 100 Wake County students ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors were represented in the Gifts of Gold virtual exhibition. As a visual component of the Pieces of Gold performing arts extravaganza, each year Wake County art teachers submit two- and three-dimensional student art. Pre-pandemic, their works were displayed at a temporary gallery inside Memorial Auditorium, but this year, students, teachers, parents, and friends could see their masterpieces on the big screens in Crabtree on Arts Night.

The evening also highlighted some amazing artwork by students from Underwood Elementary, Davis Drive Middle, and Enloe High in a storefront gallery exhibit in Crabtree (If you missed it, the exhibit will be up through May on the lower level, by H&M.)

This was United Arts’ first in-person event since the pandemic began, and we were thrilled to see so many people join us at Crabtree to celebrate these talented young people. Even with masks on, the smiles shone through. Student artists, with proud parents in tow, beamed when their art appeared on the big screen or when they saw their creation in the gallery for the first time. 

The evening was filled with reflections, laughter, and mingling of community members. In addition to all the students’ family and friends, United Arts is also grateful to all the public officials and United Arts Board members who stopped by to help celebrate the arts in schools: Wake County Public School System Superintendent, Cathy Moore; Wake County School Board Members, Roxie Cash, Karen Carter, and Christine Kushner; Wake County Board of Commissioners, Vice Chair Vickie Adamson and Sig Hutchinson.

Many thanks to Crabtree for hosting Arts Nights and supporting the arts in Wake County! Your generosity made this event very special for the students and their families. 

Although this school year has been like no another, Arts Night showed us that the arts remain essential in our schools – whether online or in person. They teach students innumerable lessons – confidence, critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, and more. By encouraging children to embrace their individual creativity, the arts give them the skills they need to be successful in life.