Kim Vasquez, Director, Institute of Creative Arts
“Simultaneous Festival of Arts happening across the country. And we also have some exciting news. We have the literary arts returning to the Festival of Arts after a very long break, almost two decades. I think the last time we had the literary arts a creative writing publication was back in the late 1990s. And so that had gone dormant for a while in the Festival of Arts and we were determined to get it, that this was going to be the year we got back creative writing in the National Festival of Arts. And this morning we presented a publication with the participation of forty-four students from both primary and secondary, short stories and poetry. But for us it’s also making sure that the Festival of Arts is as inclusive as possible. And this is why it was so important for us to have the literary arts. We heard one of the young writers earlier today said that this means a lot to them because they feel included finally. And we are also seeing as, as well more participation with the visual art we have today as well. The launch of the Festival of Arts National Visual Art Exhibit upstairs in the gallery. And we have, again, that’s from preschool. Participating up to secondary, we have over eighty pieces of art on display. And the wonderful thing about the Festival of Arts Art exhibit is that it is viewed mainly by their peers because all next week we have the Golden Showcase of the Festiva of Arts, which is the highlight, and whenever they’re done performing and they’re done inside the theater, third, they go up and they look at the art and they can give that support to their peers as well.”
On Wednesday, the Belisle Art Gallery opens its doors to the Visual Arts Exhibit which features an inspiring collection of paintings, sketches, woodwork, and handicrafts created by Secondary school students.