Smarts Launches Virtual Art Gallery Today

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Students Motivated by the Arts will launch the Smarts Virtual Art Gallery Monday at 3 p.m., giving its spring semester students a chance to showcase their works.

With in-person classes suspended due to the coronavirus, Smarts has moved its programming online, including a guitar class that begin next week.

Thanks to video-conferencing platform Zoom, Smarts has continued its classes and kept all teachers and staff employed.

Though Smarts has had to cancel its Art You Can Hear and Art You Can See events in April – which last year drew almost 400 attendees – the arts-education program has still found a way to show off its students’ talents.

“We wish we could have cheered for you at Art You Can Hear and Art You Can See, but at least we still get to be proud of you from afar! The gallery blog below contains photos of your artwork that we were able to take before the stay-at-home orders, as well as any submissions that students provided,” says Smarts executive director Becky Keck. “This is just a sampling of what we would have experienced at the student demonstration nights. Many more pieces of student art are safe at Smarts, but were not able to be featured. Many more students have continued working on their art, instruments, dance, acting, and writing at home. We’re sad we don’t get to celebrate everyone, but we’re overjoyed by what we can celebrate”

The Virtual Art Gallery webpage will be activated at 3 p.m. Monday. It can be viewed here. 

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.