The 2014 annual visual arts program “Growing Young SVG Artists” organized by Youlou Arts Foundation starts Monday, July 21and ends August 8.{{more}}  

For the past two years, the program has been focused on the St Vincent Botanical Gardens, which will be celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2015.

The 2014 program is titled: “Germinating Ideas Through Creativity.”

This year’s “visiting artist” Sherika Sayers is a local, practising artist. She has recently returned to St Vincent after studying abroad. She studied visual arts at the St Vincent Community College for two years before moving to London, Ontario, Canada, to pursue a degree in fine arts at Fanshawe College. There she did sculpture, painting, photography, film and drawing. Sherika said she especially likes teaching sculpture and painting because of a love of form, space, and structure. She is very keen on teaching and helping the youth of St Vincent to explore artistic techniques to enable them to express themselves creatively. 

For the program Sherika has designed projects to keep the children engaged throughout the entire three-week program. There will be sculpting with clay and papier maché. Her plan is to guide the children through the basic principals of sculpting to create, fun and exciting decorative objects suitable for the garden. Embroidery will be used to create flags and banners/quilts. These projects are designed to develop self-confidence, fine motor skills and will allow the children to express their creativity. They will be given the opportunity to create something beautiful on their own. 

Poems written by Gwendolyn Brooks, the famous African-American poet, will be read to the children, who in turn will have the chance to write some of their own poems. 

There will be a an exhibition of the children’s work at the Botanical Gardens on August 8th. The public is invited to come and see this show.

Youlou Arts Foundation has been offering the “Growing Young SVG Artists”program  for the past 14 years. It caters for children aged 5 -15 and is offered in four locations: in Kingstown, at the Thomas Saunders Secondary School; Barrouallie, at the Barrouallie Community Centre; Georgetown, at the Georgetown Government School; and Spring Village, at the Spring Village Methodist School.

Registration forms for the Kingstown location are available at Theo Saunders Shop and at Professional Secretarial and Consultancy Services Office. In Barrouallie, forms are available at the Community Centre. The contact person for the Barrouallie location is: Hyacinth Campbell, home 456 7115, cell: 492 2644; Spring Village contact person is Heather Stewart, cell: 528 6027; Georgetown contact person is Setranella Young cell: 432 2549.

For more information go to youlouarts.wordpress.com or call Camille Saunders Musser at 496 4092. This programme is sponsored in part by Rotary Club of St Vincent South.