Press Release
March 17, 2002
A Celebration of Lives
Lived and Lives Dreamt Of
An artistic look at the inner
worlds of seniors and children
The Avenue Road Arts School, in collaboration
with the Symes 55+ Centre, Dennis Avenue Public School, and Ottawa
artist, Jerry Grey, will be mounting an exhibit at BCE Place from
March 18 to April 5, 2002, entitled: A Celebration of Lives
Lived and Lives Dreamt Of. The show will combine the artwork
of seniors, children and a professional artist who has created
a series of portraits of old people entitled Rare Spirits:
A Personal Tribute to Vintage Elders.
Purpose
The purpose of the show will be
to draw attention to the inner resources of remarkable senior
citizens and, at the same time, celebrate the inner life of children
as depicted through representations of their dreams. These two
groups have much in common and we can all learn a great deal from
their artistic expression.
Intergenerational Activities
The show will afford many opportunities
for children and old folks to come together in a meaningful way.
The launch of this exhibit at BCE Place will include a performance
by an intergenerational choir consisting of members of the Symes
55+ Centre and Grades 4 and 5 children from Dennis Avenue Public
School (an inner city school). For the last three months a teacher
from the Avenue Road Arts School has been working with the children
and seniors to prepare for this event. Even before the two choirs
join together, they will participate in writing letters to each
other and will therefore connect in a significant way.
As part of the show we would also like
to offer weekend hands-on art activities appropriate for both
seniors and children so that they could work side by side on producing
their own creations. Crayola Canada will provide materials for
these activities.
The Artwork
The children's work will include pieces
from the first exhibit of the Avenue Road Children's Art Gallery,
entitled What Children Dream Of, which recently opened at
the CBC building on Front Street. The BCE show will include many
additional works created by children from Dennis Avenue Public School
and students of the Avenue Road Arts School. The seniors' work represents
the culmination of a project that the Avenue Road Arts School has
undertaken in conjunction with the Symes 55+ Centre, a drop-in facility
for the 'well elderly' in one of the highest risk areas of the city,
near St. Clair and Jane Street. They have created a Cloak of
Many Memories which they have been working on for several months.
Renowned Artist Jerry Grey
Ottawa-based artist Jerry Grey's
portrait series – Rare Spirits: A Personal Tribute to
Vintage Elders has been exhibited to great critical acclaim
in Ottawa and Vancouver. It includes both black-and-white and
colour pastels of many distinguished senior Canadians, including
Bill Reid, Doris Shadbolt and Louis Rasminsky. The show is a remarkable
expression of the depth and resourcefulness that comes with aging.
Venue
Because BCE Place is such a heavily
trafficked area (20,000 per day), we see this as a wonderful opportunity
to give people in the business world exposure to the artwork and
inner lives of children and seniors in a thought-provoking, engaging
manner.
Avenue Road Arts School History and
Mission
The Avenue Road Arts School was
founded in 1993 with the purpose of offering high quality experiences
in the arts to people of all ages in a relaxed and congenial environment.
The school has grown from 200 students in the first year to more
than 1,000 students at this time. In 1995, the school established
a charitable organization, Arts for Children of Toronto, which
raises money to provide scholarships to children to attend classes
at the Arts School and to fund projects designed to have a positive
impact on large numbers of children. To date, several hundred
children have attended the school on scholarship.
Previous Exhibits
The last show that the Avenue Road
Arts School mounted – a Millennium Project entitled Walking
in the Shoes of the Masters; Children Look at Art Through Time,
was initially presented at Metro Hall. After a successful ten-day
stay, the show was invited to the Atrium of BCE Place. The school
has been invited back to BCE Place with carte blanche – this
time for three weeks. The last exhibit was sponsored by The Toronto
Millennium Fund, the Toronto Community Foundation, C.A. Delaney
Capital Management, the Edward Bronfman Family Foundation and
Gluskin Sheff + Associates.
This exhibit will have a positive impact
on large numbers of people – both participants and observers.
It's an exciting opportunity to promote the value of the artmaking
experience in a new context, as well as to showcase the remarkable
work of young and old alike.
For further information, contact Lola
Rasminsky at: (416) 961-5343 or by email at: lola@avenueroadartsschool.com
The Galleria is open to the public
from 8 am until midnight every day, March 18 to April 5, 2002.
Admission is free. BCE Place, 181 Bay Street, Toronto.
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