A few years
ago, Nia Kitchin went to an art exhibit at Charlottesville High School. She
couldn’t help but notice the quality of work by a few non-CHS students, artists
who were under the tutelage of her soccer coach, Marcelle VanYahres.
“The work
that I saw for the first time, I think, was a really large graphite portrait.
The technical skill was amazing, but there was so much emotion behind it,” says
Kitchin, now a high school senior.
Those young
artists are students at Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center, a facility that
provides a residence and a structured program for juveniles ages 10 through 17.
Though Charlottesville City Schools runs the BRJDC educational programs, the
students come from across Central Virginia.
