A continuing care centre is the site of a new gallery of children’s art, thanks to an innovative Alberta’s Promise partnership aimed at connecting elders and youth.

The Children’s Art Gallery at CAPITAL CARE Strathcona was unveiled Friday November 24, 2006 in Sherwood Park. The gallery is inspired by the mission of Alberta’s Promise and is a partnership between The CAPITAL CARE Group, The Information and Volunteer Centre for Strathcona County and Picture This! Framing and Gallery.

 The gallery contains 30 pieces of artwork created by elementary school children. The themes range from favourite pastimes, like golf and skateboarding, to summer holidays at the lake and depictions of the weather.

“Today’s event is about a partnership between our elders and local school children, a form of communication with each other, where activities of life, growing up, and memories are depicted,” said Helen Shea, Administrator of CAPITAL CARE Strathcona. “It’s an opportunity for the youth in our community to connect with the elders in our community in a way that is meaningful to both groups.”

The gallery uses a unique wall mount system that allows for the individual artwork to be easily changed by the centre’s volunteers. Artwork is also mounted so that it may be enjoyed by the residents who use wheelchairs.

 “I think the art demonstrates a level of maturity beyond their years,” said Margaret Street, a long-term care resident of Cranberry Cottage at CAPITAL CARE Strathcona. “I think the attention to detail, like the raindrops in the picture of the rainbow, is really quite clever.”

 The gallery was initiated by The Information and Volunteer Centre (IVC) for Strathcona County and Picture This! Framing and Gallery.

 “For the last few years, I’ve been looking for a way to display children’s artwork in the community, and so I was delighted when I was approached by the IVC to get involved in this,” said Rollie LaMarche of  Picture This! Framing and Gallery. “The children were so positive about the idea of creating something that could be seen and enjoyed by others, they were happy to volunteer their time and talent to this project.”

 LaMarche says he likes to see the idea of a children’s art gallery inside a public building take off. “The program could be expanded to include the artwork of the grandchildren of a care centre’s residents or taken into hospitals. It’s simple to do, and the benefits to both the children and the elders are enormous.”

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