Skip to content

Happy Independence Day

By Matt Ross

It has been almost 250 years since we declared our independence. I am grateful to be an American and notwithstanding the challenges we face today, we continue on our journey as a country that is continuing to evolve and to do its best across a magnitude of complicated topics. Having…

Read More

Grow or Fold

By Matt Ross

For the last 20 years, I’ve invested my life in creative education, and I have seen the blessing of what it can do for adults and kids through the lens of my experiences as CEO of School of Rock and One River School. The metaphor, “grow or fold”, is a…

Read More

Transforming the Youth of Today

By Matt Ross

Take a look at the image. The smile and the pride on our student’s face. The artwork on display. And, our bold statement above.   I often ask parents, “what would make a difference in your kid’s life?”  And, quite often I hear a blend of: “I want them to…

Read More

Showtime

By Matt Ross

It is showtime at One River School … each of our locations have either had their official Student Exhibition opening or it is about to happen.  Either way, our fifteen locations in six states are celebrating the amazing efforts of our students and team, and having previewed a bunch of…

Read More

Artist Jeffrey Gibson

By Matt Ross

Artists like Jeffrey Gibson inspired me to create One River School and these days Jeffrey’s art and his personal story are inspiring others across the world. He is representing the United States this year in the Venice Biennale and this recognition is so deserving given both the unique art that…

Read More

Student Exhibitions are Next Month!

By Matt Ross

What better way to understand the current projects in process than to hear from London, an eight year old student at our Englewood, NJ location. Click here. Her class project that will be exhibited in June is titled “Character Turnaround” and London shares a little bit about the project and why…

Read More

Frank Stella

By Matt Ross

We have all seen these paintings but, I’m not sure that we’ve all spent the time to really contemplate with Frank Stella meant to the art world and to our culture today. Stella died yesterday at 87 and left a big, bold and colorful mark on the world. In 1959,…

Read More

The Kindness Project

By Matt Ross

One of the things I am most proud of at One River School is our ability to “Teach Life Lessons Through Art”. This month across our network of schools, teen students participated in The Kindness Project, as part of our commitment to honor Autism Awareness Month. Students were tasked with…

Read More

The Audacity of Richard Serra

By Matt Ross

When I began thinking about starting One River School, I was inspired by the audacious thinking that went into making bold contemporary art and I wanted to create a program that allowed us to “focus on the art of today”. Everyone knew about Picasso and Van Gogh, but I was…

Read More

Benjamin Klein

By Matt Ross

I love when I walk into one of our schools and see dazzling art on our walls. It makes me feel like we are doing our job by sharing serious work from world class artists in communities that don’t get to engage with contemporary art too often. Benjamin Klein has…

Read More