SMARTS animation and art teacher Robert Kerr demonstrates his craft at the event.....Photo by Brandon Cantwell

By BRANDON CANTWELL

Correspondent

YOUNGSTOWN — Students Motivated by the Arts celebrated its growth and impact on the community at its 25th anniversary holiday open house earlier this week.

The event featured refreshments, live multimedia art performances from faculty and hands-on activities for children of all ages.

Animation and art teacher Robert Kerr has been with SMARTS since 2019, and he said the idea of seeing students implement something that he has taught to create their own art is what he feels to be the most fulfilling part of teaching and being with the program.

“How the kids are, when they create their own art, that’s the big home run, when they implement something I’ve taught to them,” Kerr said. “When I was a kid, there was nothing like this — no one to guide, so I felt the need to fill a void I experienced when I was a kid.”

“Out of the 30 years of things I’ve done, teaching here has been the most rewarding,” Kerr added.

For program manager DeAudra Edgerson, having the opportunity to design some of the “craziest classes” and see them through has been her favorite part of being with the organization.

SMARTS President Becky Keck said the organization never experienced cuts during the pandemic, and sees its reaction as a reason for its growth.

“We dug in. We are public classes, and we were in the sixth of eight weeks, so students had two more weeks to finish and we took two weeks and figured out how to do virtual SMARTS,” Keck said. “And then we brought the students back in and we finished those two weeks. Buckling down and figuring out how to do virtual has made us stronger, and it’s just one of the ways we’re growing.”

For attendees of the event, being there was about appreciating the impact that it has had on them.

“I’m here to support, to reflect, to celebrate the beautiful organization SMARTS is,” Rebecca Banks of Youngstown said. “It’s very dear to me as my son was in one of its very first groups in 1997. SMARTS really helped him discover some traits he had and it really enriched his life a lot.”

Aside from the faculty performances, there was also a live performance by local artist Cara DeChurch, who will be hosting a charity Christmas concert with proceeds going toward SMARTS at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Youngstown Playhouse.

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