ARTBEAT 2026

“ARTBEAT…where kids sing, dance, create, and imagine.” This ARTBEAT event is an opportunity to celebrate the beautiful diversity, talent, and spirit of our community by showcasing the art of our public-school students to the greater Sandy Springs area. The ARTBEAT exposition will provide a platform for the best of the best of our public-school artists, including those proficient in both the performing and visual arts.
 
The event will be a public FREE art extravaganza. It will be held at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs on February 7, 2026 at 2:30 PM. This is a non-ticketed event. No registration is necessary--first-come, first-served. Please consider bringing a box of crayons or colored pencils to donate upon entry for our elementary public schools in Sandy Springs.
 
All the public middle and high schools in Sandy Springs will be performing/exhibiting for this community-uplifting event. This event will occur in a single afternoon attended by hundreds of community members of all ages, races, and ethnicities. Creating this opportunity for ARTBEAT to become a reality meets our kids in the arts most-wanted desire: to perform/present their art at the Byers Theatre!
 
Most importantly, most money raised will be donated back to the participating schools to help them access much needed art experiences and tangibles. Each participating school (Sandy Springs Charter Middle School, Ridgeview Charter Middle School, North Springs Charter High School, and Riverwood International Charter High School) will benefit by obtaining funds to better their arts programming. We all know arts funding is discretionary, and often suffers.
 
We would like to thank our sponsors  - our Presenting Platinum Sponsor  - City of Sandy Springs, our Presenting Platinum Sponsor  - Sandy Springs Together  - a project of the Couchman Noble Foundation, our Partner in Education  - Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, The Gift of Hope Foundation, Smith Automotive Group, Northside Hospital, Inspire Foundation, Hyperion Bank, Burr & Forman, RoughDraft Atlanta, Splatter Studio, Chick-fil-A, and Solidarity Sandy Springs for making this event possible! In addition, we thank our board and other individual donors.
 
Why is the success of our public schools so important?

• Our public schools are the heartbeats of our neighborhoods - where our kids learn to live in community with one another

• In addition, five of the 10 public schools are Title 1 (approximately 40% of a school population comes from households below the poverty line) in Sandy Springs. Our public schools provide an education to those who may not be able to access other options.

 
Why are the arts so important in our public schools?

• Students with an education rich in the arts have higher GPAs, standardized test scores, and lower drop-out rates. The arts - music, creative writing, visual arts, dance - provide skills sought by employers. Arts activities in schools and at home can help foster cognitive development as well as provide outlets for children to express how they feel and develop their self-identities.

• Research shows that the positive effects of the arts are especially beneficial for low-socioeconomic status students. Additionally, at-risk students who take art are significantly more likely to stay in school and ultimately to get college degrees.