YSU’s SMARTS program to showcase kids’ talents

The program is funded by a government grant.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University’s SMARTS program and the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority have joined together to offer a fine arts summer program for children living in authority housing.

SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts) will showcase the acting, writing and visual arts talents of children taking arts education classes at the SMARTS Center this summer in a program set for 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The free public event will take place at the SMARTS Center, 258 Federal Plaza West, in the DeYor Performing Arts Center,

The children are participants in the authority’s After School Youth Summer Program.

The partnership between SMARTS and the authority began last summer with a small summer camp for children living in authority housing.

Participation

This year, as many as 40 children between the ages of 8 and 15 have been engaged in the arts at the SMARTS Center three days a week for seven weeks.

The program is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The children took classes in writing, music and visual arts. Writing activities have culminated in three short skits written by the children and facilitated by Lindsay Sinkovich, a YSU alumna and area teacher.

Briar Rantilla, a community artist from the Warren area, has led the students in creating animated short films with clay figures accompanied by original music written by the students.

The skits and short films will be presented at the showcase along with the original music and choreography. A light reception will follow the program.

SMARTS is an arts education program of YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Beeghly College of Education.