Fine arts at the Heights Youth Club
This year the Heights Youth Club (HYC) entered the 2012 National Fine Arts Exhibit competition sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Four age groups, between 6 and 18, competed in 10 art categories. These included monochromatic (pencil, charcoal, pen and ink), multicolored drawings, watercolor, pastel, oil/acrylic, mixed media, collage, print making, and sculpture and group projects.
Two HYC members, Anastasia Williams, 17, and Nia Primm, 9, placed at the regional finals, where their art remains on exhibit. Their next stop will be the national level competition, and the good wishes of the community go with them.
Supported by Boys and Girls Clubs, HYC offers year-round arts exploration. Programs provide opportunities to develop creativity, cultural awareness, and knowledge and appreciation for visual arts, crafts, performing arts, and creative writing.
Club members are encouraged to develop artistic expression through classes, events, and special projects, sponsored by Cleveland Heights residents who volunteer countless hours of instruction and donate valuable resource materials.
The arts program staff skillfully integrates reading, math, and science into every experience. Students s are given free rein to design arts and crafts activities.
Some young people engaged in entrepreneurial activities, such as marketing handmade jewelry, belts and scarves. They even developed a business plan that included production, distribution, pricing and marketing strategies, to be implemented at HYC's annual spring fundraiser, Taste of the Heights.
Kimberly Morgan
Kimberly Morgan is the board administrator for the Heights Youth Club.