By Michael YEGHIAYAN

The Glendale Youth Alliance held an art exhibit last Thursday in Glendale, showcasing the talents of a number of the area’s artists. The second annual fundraiser helped raise money to support the organization’s many youth oriented programs that aim to provide the city’s at-risk youth with professional skills and guidance.

The exhibit was held in the Alex Theatre in 2012 before being moved to Glendale’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park for this year’s event.

Guests viewed the various works of art in the park’s Hall of The Crucifixion-Resurrection while standing beneath the towering presence of Jan Styka’s “The Crucifixion.” The massive panorama spans nearly 9,000 square feet and is the largest painting in the Western Hemisphere.

The GYA recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, and throughout the organization’s history over 7,000 young Glendale residents have benefited through participating in various programs.

“The GYA has a successful summer program, but every year the budget gets tighter, so we struggle with that,” said GYA Executive Director Karine Grigoryan. “But we are pushing through, doing whatever we can and serving as many youth as possible. We are doing what we can to provide more training and opportunity for the youth.”

The event’s curator was long-time Glendale resident Razmik Grigorian, whose expertise has help nurture an emerging art culture in the city. The avid art collector and former art and culture commissioner with the City of Glendale explained the process required to assemble an exhibit that would properly reflect both the city and the GYA.

“Glendale is a very diverse city. We have so many different people, different nationalities, and different ethnic groups. It is just wonderful because it is very rich, very diverse and the intermingling of these different cultures and the connection makes it more exciting,” explained Grigorian. “We had good artists from many different backgrounds and I am very happy to know most of them and meet some that I did not know.”

Over 80 pieces were displayed and available for purchase, representing the broad spectrum of talent in the area. Each of the 45 artists selected for the exhibition contributed between 50% and 100% of the proceeds of the sold art to the GYA.

The event was attended by members of the city’s business community, art enthusiasts, government officials and a number of individuals looking to offer their support to the GYA.

“Not only are we helping GYA, which serves an irreplaceable function in the City of Glendale by providing the atmosphere, the training, the location for children to go up the right path and not down the wrong path,” said Councilmember Zareh Sinanyan, who attended the event with fellow Councilmembers Frank Quintero and Laura Friedman, “but we are really using art to achieve this end. We are bringing patrons of art together with those who produce art and in the process are helping children.”

For more information about the Glendale Youth Alliance, visit www.glendaleyouthalliance.org.

  MICHAEL YEGHIAYAN