As a former member of the Christian rock band Skillet, Ken Steorts developed the idea for an academic institution that taught both music skills and Christian values. His vision, which he described in an interview with MemphisConnect.com as “serious academic study for music…and then on top of that, the Christian faith mixed with [the process of] how to go from being an 18-year-old to being a leader” eventually materialized in the form of Visible School, a a self-described “music and worship arts college” that is an accredited post-secondary educational institution with over 100 students.
Now, having tasted success and seen enrollment rise into triple digits, Visible School is on the move.
As part of its “Into the City” campaign, the school is relocating from the Cooper-Young district to the former C&I Bank building (known to some as the Bank of America building) at 200 Madison Avenue, a slant-roofed glass enclosure that the school will renovate to serve its purposes. The school, which offers a three-year bachelor’s degree program that helps place graduates in many different facets of the music industry and Christian community, has already begun fundraising for the $1.25 million project and was recently granted $250,000 to help speed up the process. The grant was provided by the Assisi Foundation of Memphis, which awards money to deserving non-profit organizations in the Mid-South area in “support [of] health, lifelong learning, social justice and responsible use of resources.”
“Visible [School] will do something Memphis hasn’t had since the ‘50s and ‘60s, which is a community of musicians coming in to our city,” local CEO and Visible School board member Mark Giannini told MemphisConnect. “Look at the economic development and impact that made Memphis the world center of rock and roll and the music capital. That’s what Visible, I believe, will bring back to Memphis.”
Steorts is hoping to have Visible School partially moved in by the end of the year, and he shared with MemphisConnect a few of his big ideas for the glass enclosure that defines the front of the building. The words “urban park” were included in his plans for the space, but you’ll have to take a look at MemphisConnect’s exclusive video footage to find out more.
Feature photo by Alan Howell, MBJ
