We started hanging the art on Wednesday, prompting several people to ask if they could drop off a late donation.  The final total is 397 pieces from 191 artists.  We'll be hanging the final 100 pieces today.

FIVE Squared montage

188 artists from twelve countries submitted art for the FIVE Squared art show and sale.  In all, 390 pieces (36 from children) were received and will go on sale Sunday, February 2nd beginning at 2:30 pm.  All proceeds will benefit the Arts & Humanities fund for children's scholarships.

More information about the show in the Youngstown Vindicator.

FIVE Squared Update

As of today, we have 360 pieces from 12 countries and 10 states.  Countries represented are:  Austria, China, England, Germany, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, and USA. 

Thank you everyone for supporting this effort!

Join us on Sunday, February 2nd for the Opening Reception 1-2:30pm, and then stay to buy your favorite pieces.  A raffle will be held for a chance to be first in line for the piece of your choice.

FIVE Squared

FIVE Squared benefit art show and sale will open on Sunday, February 2nd and run through March 9th. More than 200 pieces of 5" x 5" art will be available for purchase for $25 each.  Contributing artists... young, old, amateurs, and professionals...hail from seven countries and nine states, with the oldest being 100 and the most distant from China.

Internationally acclaimed artist, activist, and author, Faith Ringgold, contributed two text pieces, signed and dated on the back. Ms. Ringgold's works are in the permanent collections of many notable museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim in New York.  She is best known for her story quilts and children's books which weave a colorful history of the black experience in America.

The opening reception will be at the Davis Family YMCA, 45 McClurg Rd, Boardman, Ohio on Feb 2nd from 1-2:30.  This will be the only chance to see the entire collection.  Sale of the art will begin at 2:30, and as it is sold, will be taken off the wall.  All proceeds benefit the Y's Arts & Humanities scholarship fund for under-served children and families in the Mahoning Valley.

Faith Ringgold with self portrait at the National Museum of Women Artists

Call for Art

Five2  Art Show

February 2 through March 9, 2014
Opening Reception, Sunday, February 2nd,   1:00-2:30pm

Seeking donations of family-friendly art, 5” x 5” square, for a benefit art show and sale. All ages and skill levels welcome!

Art should be created on or adhered to a 5” x 5” stiff surface. All mediums, (painting, drawing, collage, mixed media, photography, digital art, etc) will be accepted as long as they are light-weight enough to hang on the wall via sticky tack.

Artwork must be received at the Davis Family YMCA, 45 McClurg Rd, Boardman, OH 44512 no later than Sunday, January 19th. Each artist may donate up to four pieces. Early entry is encouraged.

An Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, February 2nd from 1:00-2:30 pm.  That will be the only time to see all of the art. Beginning at 2:30 on Feb 2nd, as pieces sell, the art will be removed from the exhibit and replaced with a SOLD sign indicating the name of the artist.

All of the art will be hung anonymously.  Patrons may buy a piece of art for $25, not knowing if it was created by a seasoned professional, emerging artist, or true amateur.   All proceeds will benefit the Annual Campaign for the sole purpose of offering art and humanities scholarships to under-served children and families in the community.   Buyers will learn the name of the artist(s) only after they make their purchases. If their art sells, contributing artists will be credited with a donation to the Annual Campaign.  Pieces that do not sell will be available for pick up on or after March 9th if desired.

Donating artists will be recognized with names and images on a photomontage made specifically for the FIVE Squared Art Exhibit.

For more information, please contact Suzanne Gray at sgray@youngstownymca.org


Click here for FIVE2  Prospectus
Click here for FIVE2 Forms

Afternoon of the Arts

This year's Afternoon of the Arts included our very first juried art show, But I Know What I Like.  Fifty-one artists submitted 124 pieces, with lay people as the judges (as in, "I don't much about art, but I know what I like!").  More than $1000 was raised for the Annual Campaign, and $725 was awarded to the winning artists.

In addition to the BIKWIL art show, the day included Artists at Work, Kids' Crafts, performances by the Classical Strings Quartet and the YMCA Christian Leadership Band, Tea in the Garden, a Meditation Walk, and the Global Art Project for Peace.

Benson family enjoys the afternoon

Global Art Project for Peace

Award winning brother artists, James and Ed O'Malley

Meditation Walk

Tea in the Garden

But I Know What I Like

The Davis Family YMCA will be hosting its first ever juried art show, in conjunction with An Afternoon of the Arts. The opening reception, along with an awards ceremony, artists at work, performers, kids crafts, and light refreshments will be held Sunday, October 6th, from 1-3 pm in the food court. The art exhibition will remain in place for the entire month of October.  

But I Know What I Like is open to any adult in the Ohio counties of Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana. The twist to this show is that it will be judged by non-experts, as in,  "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like!"

All family friendly works of art will be accepted.  Size restrictions apply.  Drop off dates are Saturday, Sept 21st, and Sunday, Sept 22nd  at the McClurg Rd YMCA.  Pieces not hung at the Y will be exhibited at the Outreach Gallery at the Eastwood Mall in Niles. 

For a prospectus and more information about But I Know What I Like, click here.