Artmobile Dedicated at SBU

Financially strapped schools unable to send a bus loaded with kids to St. Bonaventure’s arts center can now ask for a bus loaded with art to visit them.

The university Friday formally dedicated its new Artmobile, a mobile arts education bus that will target K-12 schoolchildren in the region whose districts often don’t have the resources to send them to the museum.

State Sen. Catharine Young (R-Olean) helped secure the $50,000 state grant used to purchase and equip the vehicle. She spoke at the dedication ceremony inside the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

“This means a lot to me personally,” Sen. Young said. “I had the good fortune of growing up on a dairy farm in Livingston County … but my mom was a teacher and she always made sure that we had opportunities to see the philharmonic in Rochester, or go see a play or an art exhibit.

“Those experiences helped shape the person I am, and I want to make sure that our young people have those chances to enrich themselves culturally. We all know how important this exposure is to the education process.”

Sen. Young was approached about the Artmobile concept two years ago by Joseph LoSchiavo, Quick Center executive director; Michael Kramer from University Relations; and Marianne Laine, chair of the Guild for The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

“They were so enthusiastic and had such a great vision that it was hard not to feel excited about the idea,” Sen. Young said. “These are the types of grants that make a real difference in our communities.”

Laine applauded Sen. Young’s support of the Artmobile, which was blessed with holy water by Fr. Leo J. Gallina Jr. of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Bradford, Pa.

“I can’t express enough how grateful we are for Sen. Young making this part of the vision such a wonderful reality,” Laine said.

LoSchiavo said that 33 schools and more than 2,300 children have already benefited from visits by the Artmobile, which began making trips in the fall.

The exposure to those underserved children bolsters the educational mission of the Quick Center, which hosted more than 3,000 schoolchildren in 2008 for tours and performances.

“The numbers just keep climbing,” said LoSchiavo, who reported that more than 800 children visited the Quick Center this week alone, including a number of children Friday from Ivers J. Norton Elementary in Olean.

More than 50 school districts make up the center’s six-county service area, including 43 in New York state alone. The impetus for the Artmobile came as Quick Center staff watched the closing and consolidation of several area schools in the past several years, and the loss of funding for school field trips.

School districts interested in an Artmobile visit can contact museum educator Evelyn Sabina at 375-2088 or esabina@sbu.edu.

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts opened its doors January 1995 to consolidate the artistic activities of the campus, while creating a regional outlet for culture and expression for Western New York.

The Quick Center offers a number of resources for the education and entertainment of its varied audiences. The center is made up of four exhibition galleries, the 321-seat Rigas Family Theater, the F. Donald Kenney Museum & Art Study Wing, art storage areas, and instructional spaces for the visual and performing arts.

Information about the Quick Center’s hours and exhibits is available at www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.

(Photos courtesy of St. Bonaventure University)