NAMPA, Idaho — A new community art movement, Hearts Across the Valley, is making waves in the Treasure and Magic Valleys. CBH Homes is providing 30 blank hearts to locations across the state, which will be used as canvases by local artists, including students from the College of Western Idaho.
"I just thought it was a cool opportunity to get, you know, art club, you know, some experience," said Isabel Dominguez, president of CWI's art club. "It's a good opportunity to have on our resumes, and it just kind of bonds us together a little bit more with creativity."
For Dominguez, the large-scale 5-foot-by-5-foot hearts can be intimidating. "But I think it would be more so intimidating if it was just one of us doing it instead of like everyone that's in the club. We kind of just bounce ideas off each other," she said.
CWI is among many community and business partners vying for the hearts of art lovers. Once completed, the students' design will be revealed on campus in May. Neighboring CWI, the Ford Idaho Center is also joining the movement by opening its hearts to the community through an open call for applications.
"We're looking for the best artists in Treasure Valley right now to come through and help us with this project," said Bradford Hollingsworth, partnerships manager at Ford Idaho Center.
APPLY TO BE THE IDAHO CENTER'S ARTIST HERE
As an entertainment venue, the Idaho Center encourages artists to think big. "Get structural. Get 3D. Let's not just do a painting. Let's go as big as we can. Let's look for that wow factor," Hollingsworth added.
Artists and organizations have been awarded $2,000 by CBH Homes to support their creations. For the CWI art club students, the benefits extend beyond typical assignments.
"We're gonna plan a trip to San Francisco with this money and it's gonna give them the opportunity to visit artist studios and go to larger museums and go to galleries that actually represent artists and sell artwork, which is not something that they necessarily have access to here in the Treasure Valley," said Eric Mullis, associate professor of studio arts.
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