 – Making a statement has never been more prevalent than when you first step into the city limits of Kettering, Ohio. It is situated in Montgomery County just…){kind=link}
(NWPR-OH) – Making a statement has never been more prevalent than when you first step into the city limits of Kettering, Ohio. It is situated in Montgomery County just south of Dayton, is a residential community of 573,000, well known for its International Stone Structures. This interaction began in 2002 by the City of Kettering’s Public Art Program, Citysites. Eight international sculptors were selected to design a work of art significant to their individual culture using limestone found to be plentiful in Ohio and Indiana.
Bulgaria, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Japan and Austria not only share with US artists a symposium of stone sculptures, representing a collection of dissimilar, but also parallel tones of artistic flare, merging countries and their creativity into one.
Nestled proudly among the expansive green spaces and paved urban parks, these monuments are only an inkling of what is in store when you arrive at Inner View, a limestone structure created by Austrian artist, Carolina Ramersdorfer, just outside the entrance of Rosewood Arts Centre.
The Centre features a 1,800 square foot contemporary gallery and is recognized throughout the region for showing innovative, emerging artists’ work from throughout the country.
Awarded recognition as a top juried display is Art on the Commons located in Lincoln Park Civic Commons. This park is also home to the first commissioned public sculpture created by Gambier, Ohio, artist Barry Gunderson that seems to reign over the gala event. This yearly festival has been featured in Sunshine Artist Magazine as one of the top US festivals and attracts more than 35,000 for the single day event. No admission fee is charged for visitor entrance.
Artists throughout the country and Canada, submit slides for being juried into the show and are considered if they are of an original nature and not from pre-fabricated objects or parts and handicraft or kit items. Everything from clay, glass, jewelry to photography, water media and many other categories are considered.
As if the innovation and creativity of this exceptional juried show were not enough, Rosewood continues to offer hands-on activities in visual and performing arts. More than 100,000 patrons pass through its doors annually for classes, gallery exhibitions and theater performances.
Committed to arts in education for ages ranging from pre-school to senior adults, Rosewood Arts Centre conducts more than 400 classes annually in dance, theatre, creative writing, and music, visual and fine crafts. In recognizing the creativity of cultural diversity, the center goes on to offer courses in art appreciation, languages and the humanities.
The Kettering Children’s Theatre is a non-auditioned theatrical instruction program for children in grades 5 through 8 which is professionally produced and directed. Productions, such as Cinderella, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are examples of titles that delight children and adults of all ages. Two plays per year are professionally presented in the 200-seat Rosewood Theatre for six performances.
A sampling of classes for youth taken from last fall’s schedule include “Expressions” for ages 9-12, engaging students in using color, line, texture and compositions; “Experimental Photography” for 12-14 year olds, that explores techniques and concepts behind the camera and in the darkroom.
The Arts Centre provides fully equipped visual arts studios of pottery, darkroom development, stained and formed glass, sculpture and painting. A beautiful sprung floor dance studio is also available.
The richness of diverse activities is endless. The Kettering Arts Council, Kettering Children’s Choir, Kettering Civic Band, Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, Dayton Ballet School, CIL Ukelelians, Kettering Woodcarvers, Richens Academy of Dance, are examples of organizations which utilize and attract the public in the Centre.
A truly remarkable community, providing opportunity not only for its residents but nationally and internationally, Kettering, Ohio is definitely an art conscience society worth exploring.
For more information on hours, classes and upcoming-juried shows, contact the Rosewood Arts Centre at 937-296-0294.
(Source: First published 2006, AAPJ Vol. 18 No. 1, Spring-Summer print edition.)