ASFA celebrating 50th anniversary

The Alabama School of Fine Arts is turning 50, and the school has prepared a special open house to introduce prospective students to their unique curriculum.

ASFA, located at 1800 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard in downtown Birmingham, offers specialized instruction in dance, theater, music, visual arts, mathematics/science and creative writing, alongside traditional school subjects to earn a high school diploma. The partially residential, tuition-free public school is open to grades 7-12 by audition only.

The state legislature approved the original funding for ASFA in 1967 and continues to support the school to this day.

The school day for ASFA students includes a minimum of three hours of specialty instruction in their chosen field. This allows students from across the area to advance in their craft at a young age, such as Hoover theater student Rachel Boyd and music student Carmen Retzer.

Boyd has worked as ASFA’s stage manager for theater productions and was selected for the Capstone Leadership Academy at University of Alabama. Retzer has performed in productions around Birmingham and is beginning to seek professional film and television work.

Students at ASFA often go on to study at competitive schools within their fields and have received honors such as performing at Carnegie Hall and being selected for summer dance intensives in New York.

ASFA celebrated its 50th anniversary at the beginning of the school year with a gala dinner at the Tutwiler in August and a school-wide assembly celebrating the school’s history. They also held an all-classes reunion weekend over the summer.

ASFA will host an open house on Nov. 4 for interested students and families to learn more. Learn more at asfa.k12.al.us.

-Submitted by Alabama School of Fine Arts.