The Fine Arts Center

The accomplishments of students at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina also support the role of the arts in fostering high student achievement. As Director Dr. Roy Fluhrer conducted a tour of the Fine Arts Center’s museum-quality facilities, students vibrated with pride and excitement, “Five of us got in to Eastman!” and “I got the scholarship!” Dr. Fluhrer echoed Cornelius’ approach to excellence by encouraging students to take risks. “A man who makes no mistakes makes nothing,” explained Fluhrer. In a recent Fine Arts Center Newsletter, Fluhrer quotes author Stephen Nacchmanovitch’s book, Free Play: Improvisation in Art and Life, saying, “Education must teach, reach and vibrate the whole person rather than merely transfer(ing) knowledge…it takes a teacher who has a passion for people building, whether in the sciences or the arts.”

The spirit of innovation at the Fine Arts Center is clearly paying rich dividends in student outcomes. Students attend nationally prestigious schools like the Eastman School of Music, the New School, Julliard, and the University of Chicago in music, dance, theater, visual arts, and filmmaking as well as academic subjects ranging from medicine to law. The best schools in the nation seek Fine Arts graduates for their discipline, early exposure to professional-level training, and state-of-the-art instruction from highly skilled teachers. All teachers at the Fine Arts Center hold advanced degrees and are practitioners of their craft. Dr. Fluhrer lobbied to exempt South Carolina’s three Arts Academies from teacher certification requirements, believing college-level qualifications in their respective disciplines would serve them better in a hands-on studio environment.

After occupying an old elementary school for twenty years, Fluhrer’s vision for the Fine Arts Center facilities was realized two years ago. Fluhrer facilitated opportunities for each specialist to work with the architects to design their studio spaces. He believes the professional atmosphere raises the bar for students, agreeing with Sir Laurence Olivier, “A building is an outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture.” More than eight hundred students audition each year for four hundred openings in the intensive half-day pullout program in this culture of excellence.