SMARTS President Selected for Inaugural Creative Ohio Advocacy Leadership Institute

To see the full list of all cohort members representing arts organizations across Ohio, click here. Congratulations to SMARTS President & Founder, Becky Keck! She has been selected as a member of the inaugural Creative Ohio Advocacy Leadership Institute 2025 Cohort, along with professionals from a wide range of disciplines – including performing arts, visual arts,…

Read More

Celebrating Youth Arts Month with First Friday Youngstown at SMARTS

In collaboration with the Downtown Youngstown Partnership and Youngstown CityScape, we’re excited to recognize Youth Arts Month by hosting March’s First Friday event at our home in the historic Ohio One Building downtown. For March, the theme is “Celebrating Young Artists of the Mahoning Valley.” This free family-friendly event will showcase the many arts organizations within the Youngstown area, spotlighting our youth. This…

Read More

SMARTS Music Lab Debuts this Spring!

Introducing the SMARTS Music Lab With Grant Support from The Les Paul Foundation Does your student want to take their music education and abilities to the next level? Help them find the right key to unlock & grow their inner musician! We’re offering a new four-semester series for advanced music students: the SMARTS Music Lab. This…

Read More

Spring 2025 Semester Registration Opens Soon!

Get ready — registration for our Spring 2025 Public Programming classes will open tomorrow, Wednesday, January 15 at 1pm EST! Make sure your student is ready to be registered by completing an application. We will be offering 37 free classes across a variety of disciplines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. You can check out the catalog now to view all of our…

Read More

Early SMARTS For the Littlest Artists

We’re delighted to invite you and your young SMARTists to the Early SMARTS Open House Celebration on Saturday, January 18 from 11am-1:30pm. This magical, fun-filled event is designed for children ages 18 months to 5 years old, along with their siblings, parent, or guardian, offering a unique opportunity to bond through creative, hands-on arts activities. Together, they can discover the…

Read More

Youngstown Foundation Awards Nearly $840K in Grants

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Foundation has awarded $839,866 in new grants, including $180,315 to support the operations and special needs programs led by Students Motivated by the Arts. Read more of this article at The Business Journal: https://businessjournaldaily.com/youngstown-foundation-awards-nearly-840k-in-grants/

Read More

Holiday Open House – December 2024

We’re excited to welcome you to our home in the historic Ohio One Building for our Holiday Open House on Friday, December 6 from 1pm-6pm! This family event is free and open to the public. We’ll be featuring a number of SMARTS teaching artists and staff demonstrating their talents in the arts, as well as many hands-on arts…

Read More

SMARTS Family Dinner 2024

THANK YOU for making our 2024 Family Dinner a success!Over 300 of our SMARTS family members shared a wonderful spaghetti dinner with us last night (Wednesday, November 20) at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – thank you for being a part of this special night!  As they arrived, guests were immersed in Arts…

Read More

SMARTS Welcomes New Staff

Liberty Long and Abbie Twyford Wilson joined the staff of SMARTS this fall. The talent at SMARTS continues to grow with the addition of a new Program Manager and new Assistant Director this fall. We are excited to welcome Liberty Long to the SMARTS Family as Program Manager. Liberty will work with our community partners…

Read More