Midtown’s art department offers a variety of programs, including film, visual arts, musical pathways and theater. Students are given the opportunity to excel in creative fields that have made Midtown stand out throughout the state. This year, Midtown has been ranked No. 6 for Best High Schools for the Arts in Georgia on the education site Niche.

The ranking is made with information from the U.S. Department of Education, test scores, college data and ratings through the site’s users, which consist of former students and teachers. Midtown is the highest rated public high school on the list, among charter and art schools. 

Theater and film teacher Elizabeth Collins said that she appreciates the autonomy of Midtown’s arts curriculum and values the diversity in opportunities available to students.

“My favorite part of the arts program at Midtown is the amount of choice in the curriculum,” Collins said. “As an example, we have arts students who are taking band class, a film class and an engineering class. Others take orchestra, chorus and fashion. Students are able to pool their knowledge and significantly expand their creativity capacity.”

Senior Zoe Diamond-Wilding, who has been involved in several Midtown Theater productions, is the Drama Board president this year. She says that the community and valuable connections made through theater are one of the reasons why she decided to be a part of it.

“One of the most important things I’ve learned from theater and chorus is the importance of community and trust,” Diamond-Wilding said. “I love how many friendships are made through theater, and how empowering it feels to be a part of a group all working towards the same end goal.” 

In addition to her involvement in theater, chorus has also been a large part of Diamond-Wilding’s life since elementary school. After seeing Midtown’s musical productions, she decided that she wanted to pursue pathways that combined both interests, leading her to musical theater. Diamond-Wilding is now in Midtown’s Mastery Treble Chorus, Midtown Voices, and Voxology, Midtown’s acapella group. She is also one of the chorus’ co-presidents this year.

“I’ve been involved with chorus since fourth grade so I knew I wanted to continue that going into Midtown,” Diamond-Wilding said. “Before I was even at Midtown, I would go and watch the musicals here. I remember seeing Legally Blonde when I was in sixth grade and thinking that that was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Another Midtown student involved in the arts program is junior Maxey Patterson. She is a part of the fashion pathway. Patterson said she is grateful for the opportunities available to her, but hopes for more funding in the future.

“[Midtown] being ranked six is an amazing achievement for us, and motivates me as a student,” Patterson said. “I think this shows how important it is to have different types of art programs in schools. I just wish for us being no. 6, we would get more funding towards our fashion program. The fact that we can do so much with what we are given will hopefully push sponsors to grow the program.”

This year, Patterson’s fashion collection will be on display during Midtown’s annual fashion show. She was tasked with  picking a theme that represents her interests. 

“Not having a [pre-determined] theme allows students to incorporate what interests them; [it] truly allows their creativity to flow and adds more diversity to our art program,” Patterson said.

V. Kotavei Williams, one of the visual arts teachers at Midtown, believes that art plays a vital role in educational advancement, as well as creating room for creativity for all students. She says students at Midtown are encouraged to try new activities and classes, even if they are new to art completely.

“People tend to see only core classes as most important to educational development, however, the value of art incorporated in STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math] gives room for self-expression through the arts curriculum,” Williams said. “Whatever level or ability when students join the art program, they are nurtured, encouraged and gently pushed to grow beyond where they see themselves artistically.”

Collins said that students in the arts program gain skills that can be applied throughout their lives. She said theatre can boost confidence as well as help improve argument and speech skills.

“Students gain multiple skills from theater training that will help them be successful in whichever career choice they may make,” Collins said. “Some obvious benefits are presentation and speaking skills, as well as building confidence and empathy. However, I also like to highlight that trial lawyers often take acting classes to improve their delivery and compelling arguments. We dissect characters in a way that could be interesting to future psychologists or investigators.”

As a STEAM-certified school, Midtown focuses on engineering and sciences. The theatre program has found ways to incorporate STEAM through its Tech Theater pathway. This gives students the opportunity  to build and design the sets, costumes, lights and sound for performances. 

“On the technical side of theatre, we use geometry and engineering skills to build the sets, light color theory in a lighting design and balanced composition in the overall production design,” Collins said. “All of these aspects connect directly to our STEAM initiative at Midtown.” 

Williams believes that the quality of the art department at Midtown stems from the students and teachers who make up the programs.

“I believe the heart and pulse of the arts program here at Midtown are the teachers and the students who come to us full of raw talent and inspiration,” Williams said.