Children had the opportunity to show off their artistic skills to the Santa Clarita community on Saturday at the fourth annual Youth Arts Showcase in celebration of Youth Art Month, a month to promote youth art and art education.
“We try to work with all the school districts and art schools in the area to showcase our local talent,” said Yolanda Calderon, Santa Clarita Arts and Events supervisor. “It exposes children to the arts and offers an opportunity to those who are already creating art to showcase their talent.”
The showcase was held at Santa Clarita’s The Centre and featured interactive art activities, musical and dance performances, art vendors and food trucks.
“A lot of these kids don’t get much exposure to art,” said Mike Franke, Santa Clarita Arts and Events program specialist. “This event shows kids new ways to create art that maybe they didn’t know existed before, and it shows them how you can make art with almost anything.”
Children and their families had 12 booths to choose from where they were able to sketch with pastels, paint with watercolors, create chalk art, make jewelry and even get a caricature done of themselves.
“This is one of those events that brings families together,” Franke said. “Most of the time parents are only shown the final product, so it’s nice for them to be able to see their children creating art for a change.”
Throughout the event, films created by local talent were also being screened in The Oak Room and local dance studios led dance classes outside.
On the performing arts stage, each school district was also able to highlight their visual and performing student artists with performances by singers, dancers and musicians.
The Santa Clarita Youth Art Gallery displayed artwork from the top 20 local student artists, and awards were given in the categories of art on canvas, technical art, and pen and paper.
“The learning process helps stimulate other things in kids’ lives,” said Bozz Bosley, community relations director of Mission Renaissance, a local art studio. “It gives them a chance to learn how to take time and do something natural that they’re creating.”
