By Tricia Cherry — “Students Today, Artists Tomorrow” was an event held recently at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in downtown Hamilton. The organization of this event was the capstone art project of Miami University Hamilton’s 2025 class, and the organization loaned a wing out for the exhibit.
According to its website, The Fitton Center is a “non-profit community arts organization that celebrates and supports the full spectrum of humanity through equal opportunities in visual and performing arts.” It also allows for the purchase of pieces that are on exhibit, with prices next to all displayed art, from which there is an array to choose from, including paintings, sketches, pottery, carvings and jewelry.
The event was attended by family and friends of the students, plus a small group of teachers. The main event of the evening was an award show, in which one lucky young artist was granted the Purchas Award; their art was purchased and displayed by Miami University. This year’s winner was Riley Benoit, who won with a self-portrait (both pictured below).
Pamphlets were given out at the event, which also featured an art table brimming with markers, colored pencils, and sheets of blank paper. If one wished or felt inspired, they were welcome to draw something. The pamphlets read as follows:
“Art fosters identity, connection, and expression by reflecting cultural values, stories, and preserving history. Public art, music, performances, and crafts unite communities, spark in enhance spaces while supporting well-being, education, mental health and the local economies…The longer students participate in the fine arts classes, the less likely they are to drop out of school. Data shows a decrease from over 30% to a less than 6% when earning fine arts degrees.”
Art is famously one of the oldest known expressions of creativity known to man, going back to early humans, and even some more intelligent animals have displayed proficiency in art, such as dolphins, sea-lions, chimpanzees and elephants, if they are properly trained for it. One of the most well-known cases of this talent was Ruby, an Asian elephant living at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona until her death in 1998, as explained by the African Wildlife Foundation.
Art and other creative pursuits, such as creative writing or learning to play an instrument, have been shown to enrich mental health and assist in growth by fostering a wide array of skills such as planning, problem-solving and focus. This is possibly where the old wives’ tale originated about how you can make your baby a genius by listening to Mozart or Beethoven while pregnant. It’s not necessarily classical music, it’s the way art rewires and jumpstarts the brain, with the caveat being that to reap these benefits, the subject has to engage in the art themselves, not just experience it.
Encouraging and nurturing creativity in neurodivergent children can even ease the symptoms of conditions such as ADHD or autism. In all cases, and especially in children, art can lead to a sense of purpose, a boost in confidence if they receive praise for their work, and better quality of life in general.