Elementary School festival celebrates and shares the arts

By Nick Yates and Franco Dionco, ISB Communications

Published on Monday, May 13, 2024

The Elementary School was awash with color on Friday for the International School of Beijing’s (ISB) 19th annual CASTA (Celebrate and Share the Arts) festival.

CASTA is a celebration of all things artistic by ISB’s youngest students. Each Elementary student had an artwork on display in the CASTA exhibition, and Elementary performing arts groups performed for their classmates and the hundreds of parents who attended.

Under the Elementary School’s model of inclusivity, CASTA allows every student to exhibit the fruits of what they have been learning, and a day of enjoying music, dance, and painting gives them plenty of chance to sample their peers’ work and develop artistic appreciation.

At ISB, life is about far more than academics, and an appreciation of the arts is recognized as an important part of making students well-rounded individuals. In art and performing arts classes and after-school activities, students explore creativity and try their hands at different artistic pursuits. It is these explorations, as much as the final products, that are really on show during CASTA. The artists are encouraged to think about the process of art and explain the work that went into their masterpieces.

Click the video link below to check out some of the CASTA art, hear introductions by the artists, and find out how the festival is consistent with ISB’s focus on providing challenging and joyful learning. The featured work and students were randomly selected as a representative sample. Well done to each and every CASTA artist!