Following the CFY23 Painting Across the Commonwealth
At the 2023 Champions for Youth Summit, something was being created amidst the panels and keynote speeches and networking sessions. Tucked away in a corner of the event space, an artist was creating a work of art to capture the spirit of the event: a gathering of passionate public health professionals, dedicated to empowering youth.
That artist is Hamilton Glass, a Richmond-based painter and muralist. Summit attendees watched as he created the artwork over the course of the three-day event.
The piece’s permanent home is the VFHY Office in downtown Richmond, but it’s been traveling throughout the commonwealth to grantees and partners as part of a public art sharing project to engage our network.
Stop 1: Communities in Schools of Virginia Summit (City of Richmond)
The Champions for Youth painting’s first stop was at the Communities in Schools of Virginia (CIS-VA) Summit in Richmond in September 2023. The painting’s first public display following the Summit was at the Communities in Schools of Virginia (CIS-VA) in September 2023. Leanne Lytle, director of program & evaluation at CIS-VA and a member of the Central Regional Advisory Board, saw the painting in progress while attending the Summit. She requested to display the art at the CIS-VA summit in September.
“Seeing the progression of the painting while experiencing the passion and insights of so many brilliant speakers, I was inspired to share this painting with our Virginia network of Communities In Schools affiliates at our annual Summit. Art speaks to a part of us as professionals that logic and information can’t touch — it inspires joy, contemplation and creativity that is vital to the humanity of our work within the community,”
Stop 2: Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare (Roanoke County)
Next, the painting was taken to Roanoke, where it was hosted by Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare. BRBH, a tobacco use prevention grantee, displayed the painting for three weeks for an event in November.
Stop 3: Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Neck (Town of Kilmarnock)
Finally, the Champions for Youth painting was hosted by another tobacco use prevention grantee: the Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Neck in Kilmarnock. They displayed the art from mid-November 2023 to mid-January 2024.
The art’s next stop: northern Virginia. Tobacco use prevention grantee Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services plans to display it at an event in May 2024.
Where else will this traveling painting go? We can’t wait to find out!
Hamilton Glass will be returning to create an all-new painting at the 2024 Champions for Youth Summit this fall. This new painting will complement the artwork from CFY23 and will be created with input from Summit attendees.
Champions for Youth Summit
Hyatt Regency at Reston Town Center, Reston, VirginiaEarly Bird Pricing Available | Limited Capacity | In-Person
