October 13, 2023 3:30 a.m.
In the KQEN Cultural Spotlight:
After a year of creativity and planning, Umpqua Valley Arts, Umpqua Public Transportation District and Thrive Umpqua will celebrate the installation of four youth public art projects on Friday in front of the arts center.
A UVA release said what started as a joint vision and the desire of the organizations to uplift creative youth voices in the county, led to public art installations on four bus shelters on West Harvard Avenue.
A ribbon cutting ceremony unveiling the art will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the bus shelter on the corner of Harvard and Stewart Park Drive, near UVA. Continued celebration of this project and the young artists will follow at UVA during an open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
This project was brought to life by local artists Alex Clarke, Esme Maritz and Greenlee Vorheis – all of whom participated in UVA’s first ever graphic art-artist-in-residence program during the 2022-23 academic year. The free program, led by UVA’s artist resident Jayden Dukes, aimed to help middle and high school students across the county strengthen their graphic art abilities.
The four selected art projects were installed by Umpqua Graphics and feature larger-than-life vibrant graphic artwork, but the effort isn’t stopping yet. The youth public art installations, creative contests and free Young Artist Studio opportunities will continue through the current school year and beyond thanks to community partnership commitment to the popular program that engages local youth.
UVA will launch their Young Artist Studio programming in November, which will present local middle and high school students with an opportunity to explore the arts and connect with other creative youth. This studio program will not only feature graphic art instruction, but introduce many other artistic mediums as well. Participation in this weekly group will also open the door to opportunities to share their work in UVA’s Student Gallery, and of course participate in the 2024 public art contest launching next month.
This year’s contest, made possible once again by the partnership between Thrive Umpqua, UPTD and UVA, will begin November 1st and remain open until May 31, 2024.
More details about the effort are at: https://uvarts.com/