Heartfelt art on display at Town Hall through June

A dozen fine artists from around the Harlem Valley region contributed work they especially love for the latest local art exhibit, entitled, Art From the Heart; it’s being held at the Amenia Town Hall. The opening reception was on Saturday, March 16. In addition to the display of oils and acrylics, watercolors and photographs there were also poetry readings, music and a drum circle at the opening.“It’s a great idea,” said artist Jennifer Roussel of the show. “It involves the community and makes the community more aware of the local artists around here, and the location is more central to all of the towns around the area.”Art From the Heart involves artists involved with Harlem Valley Arts (HVA); Cindy Snow is HVA’s director, as well as a participating artist. The exhibit at Town Hall was her brainchild.“When I first saw this space the first thing I thought of was having an art show,” she said. “HVA’s mission is to get as much art hanging in public spaces as it can, and when I see empty walls I think art show. It’s a great space.”Snow talked with Amenia town Supervisor Bill Flood, who spoke with the Town Board, which gave approval for the art show to take place in the main hallway of the Town Hall. The spring show will run through June, at which time HVA will hang its summer show. In total HVA will hang four shows throughout the year.“This really kind of works nicely,” Snow said. “And the show is open whenever Town Hall is open.”If the opening reception was any indication, the show will garner much attention. On Saturday there was a good amount of traffic, aided by the farmers market happening simultaneously at the Town Hall’s gymnasium.Though the show is free-of-charge to anyone who wants to visit, the HVA members who participate must pay a nominal fee to hang their work. That money, along with membership dues, goes toward scholarships for students in both the North East (Webutuck) Central and Dover Central school districts. It can be used for students interested in fine arts, music, dance or poetry.“We give the money to the schools and let the teachers decide who should get it,” Snow said.Webutuck student Kevin John Reynolds received one of the HVA scholarships; he read original poetry at the Art From the Heart opening reception.“I recited ‘This Life,’ which was published, and a poem I just wrote called ‘Love.’”It was Kevin’s first public reading and he said he was pretty nervous, though honored to be chosen for the event.“It went pretty well,” he said, noting if he were going to nit-pick he thought he read his work a little too quickly. As far as writing poetry, Kevin said he’s going to continue doing so. “I’ll keep writing it because I find that it’s fun, and if Cindy asks me to read more I will gladly do that.”Like his more seasoned colleagues, Kevin praised HVA’s exhibit and its mission.“I think it’s really nice and a good way to get local artists out there,” he said. “Things like this really bring the local community together.”