Lou Diamond Phillips poses with the youth from Mattie Rhodes’ after-school program. Photos by Leslie Collins

Northeast News
June 13, 2011

Youngsters in Mattie Rhodes’ after-school program beamed as they stood in line for pictures and autographs with Lou Diamond Phillips.

Phillips visited the Mattie Rhodes Art Center & Gallery, 919 W. 17th St., June 9 to talk about the arts and encouraged the youth to appreciate what Mattie Rhodes has to offer.

Phillips has starred in a number of roles for television, theatre and movies, including “La bamba,” “Numb3rs,” “Law and Order: SVU,” among others. For his role in “Stand and Deliver,” Phillips received a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination and received a Tony Award nomination for his role in “The King and I.” Phillips is currently starring in “The King and I” at Starlight Theatre.

“Giving back is something Lou likes to do. It’s as natural as breathing for him,” said Denton Yockey, president and executive producer of Starlight Theatre.

When talking to the youth, Phillips said, “The beautiful thing about art is that it can be forever.”

Museums contain art as old as 500 years or more and they’re “just as beautiful today,” he said.

“Have respect for this art because it’s been around since the beginning of civilization when cave men started painting on walls to express themselves and tell their stories…” he said. “Find out what really makes you happy, what makes you excited in expressing yourself and start pursuing that.”

Asked why he wanted to visit Mattie Rhodes, Phillips said when he learned about Mattie Rhodes’ mission to instill the love of art in youth, he knew he needed to visit.

Growing up, Phillips had a number of mentors who offered support and encouragement in his pursuit of the arts – both in acting and painting. Mattie Rhodes provides the same mentorship, he said.

Mattie Rhodes is filling a gap and more and more schools eliminate the arts programs to save money.

“It’s a real shame because we really need to give our kids an outlet, enable them to express themselves, empower them artistically, open their minds and keep them off the streets,” Phillips said. “What I like to see is what Mattie Rhodes is doing here – getting them early and really instilling that passion (to pursue art) and giving them a safe environment in which to create and express themselves.

“If we get one artist, one performer, one dancer out of this who may have heard my words today, it’s certainly worth it to me.”

Mattie Rhodes President and Chief Executive Officer John Fierro (right) and Jenny Mendez, cultural arts director of Mattie Rhodes, give Lou Diamond Phillips a tour of Mattie Rhodes’ art gallery, 919 W. 17th St.