HAMILTON -- The Fitton Center for Creative Arts' mission statement is "community excellence through the arts."
To fulfill this objective, the center juggles an array of exhibits, educational programs and outreach activities. And even more are planned as the facility closes in on its six-year anniversary. "The Fitton Center had its genesis in 1989, when a committee led by First Southwestern Bank CEO Richard Fitton developed a cultural action plan," said Paul Thoms, the center's public relations director.
The committee recommended Hamilton build an arts facility with a strong education component. When Hamilton raised $8.4 million in private money for its bicentennial celebration in 1991, $5.5 million of that was earmarked for constructing and equipping an arts center.
The Fitton Center opened in November 1992. It has maintained a busy schedule of exhibits, with an emphasis on area artists.
Through public and private grants, the center offers more than 50 classes each term at its Monument Avenue facility. It plays host to speakers, music performances and poetry readings.
But "community excellence" goes beyond one facility. Director Rick H. Jones and the Fitton staff developed the SPECTRA+ program in two Butler County elementary schools, training teachers to make the arts central to the learning process.
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Another session of Teenworks is to run Sept. 8 to Dec. 18. Lead artist will be potter Gail Springer. The program is open to Butler County residents 13 and older.
Information: Call the Fitton Center at 863-8873. |
And they developed Arts in Common, taking arts programming to inner-city residents of Hamilton and Middletown.
That program sponsors classes and camps in the visual and performing arts at Hamilton's Booker T. Washington Community Center, the Downtown YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs.
"What we discovered with Arts in Common was we were not getting teen-agers in, especially from the financially disabled community," says Deby Sage, the program's director.
This summer, she started Teenworks, an apprenticeship program modeled on ones in New Orleans and Cincinnati. Teens in the program work with an artist, learning various techniques and producing artwork to sell.
Besides learning techniques, participants learn to keep records, develop a sense of what people will buy and strive for an increasingly high quality in their work.
So far this summer, about a dozen teens show up consistently for daily sessions at the Fitton Center. Working with lead artist Christina Smith, their immediate goal is to produce artwork they can market at Hamilton's Damfest celebration Aug. 7-9.
Ms. Sage wants to reach more teens.
"I want to connect with the juvenile court system. It could be a wonderful fit," she said. "Some of those at-risk kids may have an artistic bent."
