Youngstown, Oh – “FIVE Squared” is getting a “PostScript” at the Davis Family YMCA. (January 30th, 2025)
For a decade the “Five Squared” art show funded the Boardman Y’s ARTreach program, which provided art classes and supplies to underserved people in the community.
Suzanne Gray, arts and humanities coordinator, said they decided to retire the concept with the 2024 show. Artists donated original works that measured 5 inches by 5 inches. All works sold for $25 and were hung anonymously. Buyers didn’t know until they made their purchase whether their choice was created by a well-known artist who work regularly sells for far more or a novice submitting the first piece they’d ever created.
“We knocked around a few ideas,” Gray said. “Originally we were calling it FSPS, as in a postscript to FIVE Squared. OK, this will be a postscript and after FIVE Squared, but we didn’t want it to be the same thing of people just donating little art.”
“PostScript” does feature some small works. More than 20 artists donated postcard-sized word measuring 4 inches by 6 inches, but the creator will be identified, and the prices will vary. The YMCA will get the full purchase price.
