- In this video, children take part in a free art class in California City.
- Dianna Heppe of Cal City received a $135,000 grant in the spring and has started projects in the community.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Back in May, Dianna Heppe of Cal City was among 20 grant recipients for arts-based projects... and it was quite the 'creation'!
I'm Steve Virgen your California City neighborhood reporter.
Part of the 135-thousand dollar grant went towards students in Cal City and it's thriving.
(HEPPE TEACHING ART CLASS WITH KIDS)
Heppe: "Everybody say: art!"
Kids: "Art!"
Heppe: "And what does it do?"
Kids: "It tells a story."
Heppe: "Very good."
And the story in Cal City includes fun.
Free art classes for kids are among the projects generated from the grant that came courtesy of the Kern Dance Alliance.
(Heppe asks the class: "Does everybody know what photography is?")
This week, kids learned about taking photos of different objects... and their work is displayed at the end of the class.
"I think they're really good because it keeps them busy, gets them out of the house, gets them away from the TV, or tablets, and makes them get more creative," said Daisy Rodriguez, a California City resident.
"There's always a lot of energy and I don't mean the kind of energy where they're crazy, but the kind of energy where they want to absorb knowledge," Heppe, an artist, said.
Heppe also plans for a mural and a sculpture project in Central Park.
The theme for the work is water, vibrancy and light.
The projects spotlight water and energy conservation and climate mitigation.
"For the grant, we had to choose an issue, and I chose this one because we live in the desert and conservation is one of the most important factors of our lives out here," Heppe said.
And, the kids love it.
"I usually don't go to it, but I might go more after this because it was really fun and we got to take pictures today," said Lyra Thomas, 9.
Heppe says she has other projects in mind and plans to apply for other grants.
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