Student & Alumnus Participate in Summer Art Program

Central Catholic junior Chemere Wicks participated in the Toledo Young Artists at Work (YAAW) program, which ran from June 23 through August 1.  Bart Reamer (Class of 2022) was an assistant instructor for this summer’s session.  Since 1994, YAAW has offered paid summer apprenticeships to area teens to learn both creative skills and job skills, and to connect with the community through the creation of public art and salable works.  Each year more than 40 teens from diverse neighborhoods and communities in and around Toledo are chosen by the Arts Commission to join this unique summer employment opportunity.

Five days a week for six weeks, the teens learn about artistic techniques and work on a variety of art projects.  These projects include murals around Toledo and individual works of art such as handmade sketchbooks, magnets, accessories, paintings and more.  The individual works are then put up for sale to the community at the end of the apprenticeship.

Chemere was part of the team of apprentices that worked on a mural at Manahan, an organization that offers residential living, rehabilitation, and vocational opportunities for adults living with disabilities.  “We met with some of the residents, we created the design for the mural, and we worked on it alongside them,” she said.  “The nature theme we came up with symbolizes hope and growth.”

As a student at Central Catholic, Chemere has taken Art Fundamentals and a Drawing & Painting class, and she plans to take more art classes her senior year.  She would like to pursue a career in art, and she appreciated the opportunity to learn new art techniques through the YAAW program.  

“I really enjoyed meeting the people at Manahan and working on the mural with them,” she said.  “I learned that no matter what kind of disability a person has, we are alike, we are all human beings who have gifts to share.  We had fun, and what everyone did mattered.”

Bart is currently attending Bowling Green State University and studying studio art and theater, with a personal focus on technical design.  He had participated in YAAW as an apprentice in 2022 and worked on the Market Street mural on the Libbey Glass outlet building, designing and painting the giant green deer.

“I wanted to become an assistant instructor because I loved my time in the organization as an apprentice, and I was lucky enough that the organization loved me back!” Bart explained.  “While at BGSU, I have become interested in nonprofit work and arts management, and YAAW is a perfect way for me to dip my toe into those waters.”  After college, he hopes to find a job in either the visual or performing arts, whether that be as a technical worker in a theater scene shop or as an employee at a nonprofit.

As an assistant instructor, Bart performed a variety of tasks to create a supportive learning and working environment for teenage apprentices.  He was both their teacher and their boss, as they worked together to create artwork to sell and to publicly enjoy.  He co-led a group of 17 apprentices in designing and painting a mural in the waiting room of the Compassion Health Care Center on Dorr Street.  In between their days on site, he gave the apprentices prompts to create paintings and assisted them in creating decorated journals and sketchbooks, all to be sold at the Arts Commission's Art Loop event on July 26. 

As a student at Central Catholic, Bart was heavily involved in theater and art.  He was assistant director of the Glee Club and a member of the National Art Honor Society.  “Being a member of both of those groups helped propel me into college with a greater understanding of what makes me happy: creating art for public benefit and enjoyment,” he said.  “I believe it was art teacher Patty Bartkavage who first introduced me to YAAW, so her influence continues to show in my life.  I am supremely lucky to have been given access to these outlets of creative expression, as they have become the foundation of who I am.”

*** Photos Courtesy of Ari Collins ***