Transforming the Center for the Living Arts
Illuminating each day what was previously obscured or unimagined, coursework and co-curriculars guide students on a personal exploration to seek out and honor that of God in themselves and each other. The arts play a powerful role in this discovery process.
Westtown’s Visual and Performing Arts program is devoted to the education of a new generation of artists who are informed, empowered, collaborative, and empathetic. Through the development of skills in music, dramatic arts, visual arts, and dance, our teachers challenge students to find new ways to reach beyond the borders of what they know, using the arts as a lens for understanding the world in an empathetic manner. The skills they develop will serve them in all facets of life: exploring shared histories and diverse cultures, listening to others, delivering and accepting critique, taking risks, approaching life with curiosity, problem-solving, and using failure as a step towards growth.
Today, a visit to the Center for the Living Arts (CLA) demonstrates the key role the arts play at Westtown. A three-phase renewal of the building supports the potential of our academic and co-curricular programs housed within the aging facility. The call to revitalize the Center also speaks to the very beliefs and ethos of our community.
Since 2019, we have:
With additional philanthropic support, the third and final phase began in the summer of 2023 and is the largest undertaking in the renovation.
This phase includes an exciting addition, replacing unused space with a stunning gallery, flex performance space, a student collaboration space, and a common gathering area. Alongside critical modifications for accessibility and an aesthetic upgrade of the building’s façade and the theater vestibule, the fully renewed center will take advantage of one of the most beautiful vistas on the Westtown campus tying the community together around the arts.
Two alums have recently expressed their enthusiasm and support for the arts at Westtown with inspiring and transformative gifts in support of the CLA project. Each motivated by different elements of their journey at Westtown, both donors took a moment to describe the reasons they had for making their gifts, and for making them now.
Currently based in Hong Kong, Jehan Chu ’94 arrived at Westtown from New Jersey, and was an Upper School boarding student for two years. His sister, Shamsi Chu, graduated from Westtown in 1990. During a March 2022 visit with Westtown students and faculty over Zoom, Jehan expressed gratitude for his Westtown education and recalled spending time in the photography lab and the Arts Center — both experiences that offered opportunities to learn about photography and art from fellow students and faculty which inspired his future career.
After graduating from Westtown, Jehan earned a degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and began his career in New York City at an internet startup. After working for Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, he became an art advisor, helping collectors build contemporary art collections and supporting local arts organizations. In 2013, he began investing in Bitcoin and building the crypto community in Asia, eventually founded Kenetic, a blockchain venture capital firm based in Hong Kong and Puerto Rico. He continues to collect art and NFTs (non-fungible tokens), as well as supporting organizations at the intersection of art and technology.
In April of 2022, Jehan made a transformational anchor pledge enabling the renovation of the Center for the Living Arts. In honor of his gift, the new two-story exhibition gallery, which will display acquired collections and visiting artists’ installations, will be named for Jehan and his family. Jehan will also lend his considerable expertise to assist in the development of our art collection and the design of the gallery space to best suit our vision for the space.
“Westtown was a turning point in both my sister, Shamsi’s, and my life. It had a profound impact on my spiritual, artistic, and leadership development under guides like Jay Farrow, Caroline Loose, Ellen Jensen (Abbott), and many others. It is a privilege to be able to contribute a small gift back to the Westtown community on behalf of the Chu family and the incredible class of ’94.”
Will Hildreth ’81, began at Westtown in fourth grade. As a boy, Will spent many afternoons at the Living Arts in Philadelphia where his father, Daniel, was an actor, and he loved the exploration process of watching productions go from being a vision to a finished project. While his love for the theater and the arts began there, it was nourished at Westtown. Will recalls numerous experiences, from Lower School through his days on the catwalk in the theater for Upper School productions, as instrumental in further kindling his interest in the arts. Specifically, he shared memories of the new theater director at the time, Spencer Gates, who allowed him first-hand experience that highlighted how valuable the physical plant is to arts education and to student learners.
“When I learned that this project was happening, I was so excited because I understood the value it would immediately bring to the student experience,” said Hildreth. “My time at Westtown was really transformational for me. Having the breathing room to really explore different things and see where my interest lay is Westtown’s way, and that is, in some ways, I think, completely unique in the educational world. That is why I wanted to give back, and it is particularly exciting that it was around the arts and around revitalizing the building that was so important to me when I was there at school.”
Through a challenge grant from the Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation, Will and his family have made a substantive pledge to name The Hildreth-Dietrich Visual Arts Wing. The wing will create a formal visual arts space within the Center for the Living Arts, providing an open, collaborative area for student work, critique and displaying, as well as housing the sculpture studio, digital lab, and the drawing studio. Serving as the hub for teaching and learning the visual arts at Westtown, the wing will prioritize student curated exhibitions and work and will place a meaningful spotlight on the final exhibition of the year for our community, the senior art show.
“I think my dad would be excited that we are able to make this gift now. He knew how much Westtown meant to me, to our family really, and this is also right in line with what the foundation supports, visual arts and arts education,” said Will. “This gift, like so much of the grantmaking he did, is about letting kids explore their creative process and giving them a chance to just reach for something without knowing what the outcome will be. That, I think, is what arts education is about.”
“With the tremendous generosity from Jehan and Will, we now look forward to completing the transformation of the CLA,” said Chris Wills, Assistant Head of School for Program and Community. “Their investment in our program allows us the opportunity to thoughtfully expand our space so that it can come to life with performances, exhibits, learning opportunities, and all forms of creative expression that are representative of the depth and breadth of talent our students and faculty possess. It will be so exciting to engage the entire Westtown community, and our visitors, in our visual and performing arts program once again.”
Originally published in the 2021-2022 Annual Report
The CLA is a hub of energy at the center of our campus. It is a place where students from all three divisions come together to learn, celebrate and explore. The renovation of spaces, well-loved by generations of Westonians, and the creation of new areas to gather and share, will shine new light onto this program and make the arts more accessible to all.
For general inquiries, please contact Dean of Advancement Ellen Urbanski at ellen.urbanski@westtown.edu
