Ballard High School houses a collection of 60 world-class art pieces, which will be unveiled to the public on October 1.

The collection has been named after Orre Nobles, a celebrated Northwest who taught at Ballard High School for more than thirty years.

"Orre Noble showed students that through art, they can find interesting careers and lifelong experiences," said C. David Highbanks, founding president of the Ballard High School foundation who played a key role in starting the collection. "He inspired students that there's a place for artists in the world."

The 60-piece collection features many works of former BHS students, some of whom will attend the Open House on October 1.

Highbanks said in order to be accepted into the collection, each piece of art must have a Ballard connection.

The artist(s) must have been a Ballard High School student, live or have a studio in Ballard, or the piece of art must be an historic or contemporary depiction of the Ballard area.

"We're not trying to be exclusive but make the collection more meaningful to the students," Highbanks said.

Many different techniques are represented in the collection and Highbanks said art teachers are encouraged to use the collection as an education tool.

But part of the reason behind hosting the Open House is to invite the general public to see this impressive collection, said Richard Lee, executive director of the Ballard High School Foundation.

"This is not a closed collection. You don't have to be a Beaver to see it," he said.

"There is no other high school in the country that I know of that has a collection of this size," Highbanks added. "People need to see the school and be reminded of how their dollars have served the community. The art collection is just one more example of what makes this a great school."

The event will also feature two showings of the Orre Nobles Art Collection Film , a documentary about the artists featured in the collection.

"This is an absolutely amazing film with really great profiles of the artists," Lee said. "It's truly worth your time."

Lee said the event is also an opportunity to see old friends and host mini class reunions. The foundation will host a special Golden Beavers Reception in the Ballard High School Commons for alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago.

The first showing of the film will take place at 9 a.m. in the school's Earl Kelly Performance Center, followed by a student docent-led tour of collection at 10:30 a.m.
The second showing starts at 11 a.m. with student docent-led tour of collection at 12:15 p.m.

For more information, please contact Dick Lee at 
rjlee@seattleschools.org or 206-252-0476 or visit www.bhsfoundation.com.