Cultural Arts Foundation Receives Grant

The Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation has received an ARPIE Grant from the Community Foundation for their Empty Bowl Project. MVCAF is partnering with the Salvation Army and the Moreno Valley Unified School District in an effort to focus on the daily challenges faced by homeless students and their families. The MVCAF’s Vanguard Community Art Gallery, located at the Moreno Valley Mall, will distribute wooden bowls to artists and homeless students, to be mentored by artists, in transforming the bowls into an artistic statement about hunger and homelessness. Students will also be provided with the use of art materials along with guidance from several local artists. The Salvation Army will work as the liaison with the homeless and the MVCAF. The students of the Valley View High School’s EaglePro video program, with professional assistance from actor, director and fine artist Kris Black, will create two documentaries for this project. The first will track the creative development of the wooden bowls as artwork. Artists and homeless student artists will be shown discussing the development of their creative concept through to the finished art. The second documentary will center on the lives of homeless students and their families. It is reported that there are about 3,000 homeless students enrolled in the MVUSD. Most people are unaware that there are so many families struggling to have a safe shelter, sufficient food and clothing. Getting a good education is a challenge for most. A homeless student has so many more barriers to overcome to have a chance at an education that will provide them a way up. Both documentaries will be entered into various film competitions. The complete artwork will be on exhibit at the MVCAF’s Vanguard Community Art Gallery from May 17 through May 31. The exhibition will be open to the public. On June 3, the MVCAF will host a premiere of the two completed documentaries along with the art bowls at the City of Moreno Valley’s Conference and Recreation Center on Frederick Street. The event will be free and open to the general public. On June 4, the Salvation Army will conduct a fundraiser at the Conference and Recreation Center which will include a lunch, viewing of the documentaries and an auction of the art bowls. Richard L. F. Archer, President of the Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation, stated, “We are most excited about the positive impact that the Empty Bowl Project will have on the City of Moreno Valley. Our project addresses a crisis that is not at all unique to our municipality for you can find this problem throughout most cities in America. Our project will engage local artists and the homeless of our community in another step forward towards making a real difference to improve the quality of life.” Mr. Archer encourages anyone interested in being involved in the Empty Bowl Project to contact the Vanguard Community Art Gallery either through their e-mail: emptybowl@mvcaf.org or by phone at 951-697-9022. Artists can pick up their wooden bowl at the Vanguard anytime after Saturday, Jan. 17. The completed bowls will need to be returned to the Vanguard no later than May 1.