A free event to celebrate a new art and poetry exhibit by Communitas Supportive Care Society takes place Thursday, Dec. 14 at The Reach Gallery Museum (32388 Veterans Way).
The theme of the exhibit is Choosing Hope – to look at life from a positive perspective, no matter the circumstances around you.
An artist talk and poetry reading is planned for the celebration, running from 5 to 7 p.m. and open to the public.
“Choosing Hope is our organizational theme for this year and so it was a natural choice for this year’s art show,” says Angelika Dawson, communications manager for Communitas and one of the curators of the exhibit.
Communitas provides care in communities across B.C. to people living with developmental disabilities, mental health challenges, and acquired brain injury.
One of the organization’s values is to create healthy, inclusive communities where everyone has an opportunity to belong, grow, and contribute.
In order to include as many people as possible in the exhibit, both artists and poets were invited to submit creative work on the show’s theme. The invitation included staff and people served by Communitas.
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“What is fantastic about this exhibit is that viewers will not know which work was created by a staff person and which work is created by a person we serve,” Dawson says. “All the work is absolutely excellent.”
Along with the theme, artists were given a 20-by-20-inch canvas to work on, keeping the look of the exhibit uniform.
Poets were asked to keep their poems to a specific length and these were then formatted by Veronica Harms, Communitas’ graphic designer.
Edward Drewitt is one of the poets participating in the exhibit. He was drawn to the theme of Choosing Hope because he feels strongly that we need to be reminded of hope’s promises.
“Hope, for me, is a significant remedy to overcoming the undesirable ‘whistle stops’ we each must endure,” he says. “We must remember that hope promises a life where our dreams and desires can become real.”
Artist Kimberly Cooper was also drawn to the exhibit’s theme and the message it conveys.
“I believe that ‘hope’ is a positive theme for all people,” she says. “I hope that guests will take away a message of hope for a bright future.”
Choosing Hope includes a “selfie station” where guests can take a photo with a paper sunflower with a quote about hope printed on it.
Participants are then invited to post it to social media and tag Communitas for an opportunity to win a prize through a random weekly draw. The winner will receive a coupon for a sandwich or bowl from Little Sprout Cafe.
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