SPECIAL REPORT: Yuma’s rising art scene

In her final special report, Samantha Byrd spoke with local artists who share what's so special about being a part of the Yuma arts community.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma County is widely known for its agricultural and military history, but in recent years, the area has seen a growing arts and culture scene.

Dance, art and music form a vibrant heartbeat that connects the Yuma community, offering entertainment to the audience and an outlet for the artist.

Ballet Yuma, a local dance studio, might be where young people take their first steps into creativity.

"I moved down here when I was two-years-old from North Dakota, and my mom noticed how uncoordinated I was, so she enrolled me at a different studio, and my dad didn't like the costumes, so he found a studio where the costumes were more appropriate and I've been here ever since, and I've loved every second of it," said Kaylyn Larsen, a senior company member of Ballet Yuma.

Larsen is a 17-years-old dancer at the studio, and her teacher, Catherine Field, is also a former Ballet Yuma dancer.

"We have an interesting community for the arts especially so it's a really small community but it has a high concentration of pretty high level dancing," Field expressed.

Now in its 30th season, Ballet Yuma is recognized nationally as one of the best pre-professional ballet companies in the country.

It is Arizona's sole representative in the Ballet Alliance, which Larsen will be performing at this spring in Spokane, Washington, for her senior year.

"Performing on a larger scale is so special. Being surrounded by dancers that have the same goal in mind or same work ethic as you is always so amazing," Larsen shared.

"We not only provide training to become a professional dancer, if that's what your goal is, but to become professional in whatever realm you want to enter upon graduation," Field added.

"Me personally, I love ballet so much, but I think I'm going to take a different turn. I am still going to be a patron of the arts. I'm always going to support the arts, but I think I'm going to go into something a little bit different," Larsen stated.

While some local artists choose other career paths after high school, other artists, like painter Fernando Cabrera Gonzalez, decided to pursue art full-time.

"I liked drawing and doing animations on my computer, but I was never as good as some of my classmates were. I never thought that I would be an artist, I just did it for the joy of doing it," Gonzalez shared.

In high school, Gonzalez crossed the border from Mexico to attend San Luis High school every day. That's where he decided he wanted to pursue painting as his career.

"I was like, 'I gotta do something. I learned English better, I got my grades up, I got the Obama scholarship, which gave me a full ride to ASU, and I studied painting," Gonzalez spoke.

Since 2016, he has had his artwork on display in various shows across Arizona, and he recently had his first one at the Yuma Art Center.

"It's a collection that I've had since 2020 since I graduated college, up until my most recent work, the stuff that we see behind us. The collection is a look back at my journey as an artist and how my process has evolved," Gonzalez expressed.

Gonzalez encourages others to follow their passions just as he did: "We don't need someone to tell us to dance, to dance or sing, to sing. When we're kids we just do it because it brings us joy right. You see a kid and all of a sudden they start dancing and singing and it turns into a whole thing."

"When I was five years old, I had a very specific memory of drawing and painting and I told myself that I was an artist," said Holly Hendrick, another local artist who has been teaching art and ceramics at Cibola High School for over 20 years.

Hendrick was diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school and art was what kept her going: "I credit art for keeping me in school and I'm in school right now, I'm still going to college. I'm getting my masters of fine arts degree in ceramics."

Hendrick is set to graduate in 2026 and will have a thesis show at the Yuma Art Center in 2027.

When asked how her experience has been in shaping the next generation of artists in her classroom, Hendrick said, "I love it. I feel like I get to continuously educate the next decision makers and the next leaders of our community just like I educated you and try to help people understand why art is so important in our community."

Hendrick also says even for students who don't have a passion for creating art, teach them how to support others who do is very important: "Supporting the arts, there's a connection to our financial base, revenue stream. If we have a lively culture in downtown mainstreet Yuma, people will want to come and experience that and then they like to spend money down there."

Yuma resident Mia Delgado is a born and raised singer and songwriter whose music echoes through the streets of Yuma.

"I started with music since I was little. My dad always had music playing. He was also an artist. He was a tender saxophone player. I just wanted to be like him," Delgado shared.

She started off playing the saxophone: "I was a band kid since elementary school and I really think that's important because those teachers taught me so much and I wouldn't be here doing music without them."

Delgado soon realized that she loved to sing and write music as well.

"It's still kind of hard to think I could be successful doing this. I believe it's my passion and hobby still. It would be so nice to get to the point where people knew who I was, but just being able to sing in this community with all the amazing people is good enough for me. I love it," Delgado explained.

Delgado is part of multiple bands and groups, and says she appreciates the support of the Yuma community.

"There have been so many people in the community that are so supportive and caring and want to uplift each other. I got lucky. It's a very small town but you'd be surprised the variety of music and arts here is really awesome," Delgado shared.

Delgado wants to share a message for anyone who is scared of following their dreams: "I have terrible stage fright and even now, I get nervous, but just be confident that if this is something that feeds your soul, and if this is something that you really love to do, just do it. Just push past the being scared part."