03 Dec A surprising online art collection

Today is the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The international L’Arche organization is celebrating with an online exhibit of art created by L’Arche core members from 25 of the 38 countries with L’Arche communities. As Jenn Power,* Atlantic Regional Coordinator for L’Arche, noted on Facebook, it’s a chance to experience “some of what our folks have to say about life.”

“Woman,” the watercolour at the top of this post, was created by Andrea Frizon, a resident of Mortimer House at L’Arche Toronto. The painting below, “Look at yourself in the mirror,” is a collective work by 13 artists from the Alizé Workshop at L’Arche Montreal:

One of the L’Arche Montreal artists, Core Member Michel Bouchard, reflected on the collective work:

When I look at this work that everybody from the workshop has worked on together, I feel happy and it’s as if my heart is open. It’s nice to look at and really not boring. There’s plenty of action and the colours are vibrant and wonderful. As you can see in this painting, we’re all different and we don’t have the right to make fun of others, it doesn’t get you anywhere. When you bring lots of different people together, I think it makes something beautiful. I’m proud of our work and happy to have participated.

The untitled collage below is the creation of Slavko Škerl, a core member from the l’Arche community in Društvo Barka, Slovenia. Mute from birth, Slavco came to the community in 1997, following the death of his parents, because he had no close relatives.

‘A prodigal son,’ below, is a work in Acrylic on wood created by Masaichi Wakamoto, a foundling who has lived in the Japan’s Kana-no-ie l’Arche community for 24 years.

Readers will find time spent with the entire exhibit rewarding and surprising.

* Disclosure: Jenn is my daughter-in-law.