Hamilton, Ohio – The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hamilton take over the walls of the Fitton Center’s Community Gallery with a new art exhibition.
Color Outside the Lines kicks off with a FREE gallery-opening celebration from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 7.
Tommy John, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hamilton CEO, said the exhibition features 32 pieces culled from about 200 area young people involved in arts outreach through the Clubs in partnership with the Fitton Center. The second-annual exhibition highlights two-dimensional work like drawing, painting, collage and printmaking.
“Boys & Girls Clubs provide not only a safe space for the kids, but also a snack program, homework help and a lot more,” he said. “Art classes support not just their creativity, but also helps their mental health. It’s an outlet, a way to express themselves.
“They can create art, but when they have a gallery to show it in, that’s a different level than making something in class.”
Fitton Center assistant director of education and outreach Caroline Digiovenale agreed.
“It’s important to us because it is important for the kids,” she said. “Having their art displayed in a gallery gives them a sense of pride, a place they can bring their parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends, and show what they have been working on for months.”
John said a three-judge panel will evaluate the artwork in Color Outside the Lines, which serves as a local qualifier for state and national Boys & Girls Clubs art exhibitions. He added works by Club teens will be part of the exhibition for the first time.
“Not only are we still serving the youth, we’ve added a teen group,” John said. “We’ve changed some things to serve teens in a significant way, and this is one of them.”
Digiovenale said Boys & Girls Clubs art instructor Jen Hobbs rotates between four groups at three club locations – youth classes at Hamilton East, Hamilton Grand and Hamilton Highland, along with a teen class at Grand – spending two hours a day with each for a week at a time, Monday through Thursday.
With fewer teens in the program than youths, those artists get some additional one-on-one time with Hobbs. They also had a printmaking workshop before the school year started and work on the exhibition began.
“That is a fun extra thing the teens got to do,” Digiovenale said. “(Printmaking) is a pretty involved process and includes a lot of different tools and steps. But that extra attention means (Hobbs) is able to go into more detail with the actual technical skills when she is with the teens.”
John said he is pleased to continue and grow the Boys & Girls Club exhibition.“Last year it was kind of like the Fitton Center was doing this for us,” he said. “This year, there’s more shared responsibility. It just shows what you can accomplish when organizations work together. It’s a huge win for everybody.”
The Color Outside the Lines gallery opening runs in conjunction with the Fitton Family Fridays performance of BPO: Meet the Music 2 at 7:30 p.m. While the exhibition is free, tickets to the show are $8 for Fitton Center members ($10 for non members) and are available online right here, by phone at 513-863-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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