Art group to have 1st show

The fledgling organization is looking for a permanent home.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — When Robert Dubec ran into his friend Judith Szabo at a downtown festival last summer, they got to talking about the city’s arts scene.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an art gallery downtown?,” asked Szabo, who teaches art in Youngstown schools.

Dubec, an artist with a studio in Canton, agreed. Art Youngstown was born.

After months of planning, AY will hold its inaugural exhibition Nov. 23 and 24 in a storefront at 25 W. Federal St., downtown, next to Silver’s Vogue Shop.

The location is only temporary. The owner of the unoccupied building, Denise Powell, is letting AY use the space for the exhibition. Powell owns James & Weaver Office Supply.

Art Youngstown is searching for a permanent place of its own, said Dubec. The group plans to seek government grants and private sponsors and donors.

“A city can’t stay alive without arts,” said Dubec, who also works as a tobacco treatment specialist for Humility of Mary Health Partners.

“Youngstown has no art gallery for local artists,” Dubec continued. “There are artists who have galleries for their work, but none for all local artists.”

The goal of Art Youngstown, said Dubec, is to enrich the cultural quality of the Valley and make art accessible. He envisions holding Art Walks downtown, with artists displaying their works in storefronts to complement exhibitions in galleries and studios.

The visual arts movement downtown seems to be gathering momentum. The Mahoning Convention and Visitors Bureau last month announced plans to buy 25 W. Federal St. and use it as an art gallery. And artist Jim Pernotto has revealed plans to buy the Silver’s Vogue Shop building and open a gallery on the street level. Pernotto’s studio is on the second floor of the building. Artist Bob Barko also maintains a studio nearby, on Phelps Street.

To carry out their vision of Art Youngstown, Dubec and Szabo have assembled a board with experience in art, business and grant-writing.

Henry Lepore is AY’s treasurer, and Joy Serednesky is the secretary. Carol Rastaedt, Debra G. Weaver and Sarah Terlecki are board members.

Szabo, who worked for seven years at the McDonough Museum of Art, has exhibited her art at the Butler Institute of American Art.

XFor more information about Art Youngstown or its inaugural exhibition, call Szabo at (330) 788-5678, Dubec at (330) 782-0346, or Serednesky at (216) 288-6871. More details are available online at ArtYoungstown.org.