Unique Art Show in Burnaby raises hundreds for community group
Posted June 3, 2018 10:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – A one-of-a-kind art show has been held in Burnaby, aiming to showcase the talents of people with disabilities. Artists Helping Artists (AHA) is run by the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, a non-profit group.
For a small fee, people can join and get access to art supplies, and a studio space. Many of the people that use the space have disabilities, Like Derek McElheron.
He was a lawyer in Vancouver before stress made him collapse and pass out. McElheron would suffer a brain injury, caused by a lack of oxygen, forcing him to move on from the field of law.
He’s been working with ‘AHA’ for nearly 17 years now, and says art is a wonderful tool for healing.
“I found that it was very good to just come in and relax, because if you’re doing art, you get yourself away from the world and create your own world just by painting or drawing,” says McElheron. “Through imagination, you begin to change the way you think.”
McElheron says art can be soothing.
“Just by doing art, you move your hand, you move your fingers, sometimes we have some relaxing music, and suddenly your mood changes, just from doing art,” he says. “That’s the beauty of art, it’s not just the finished product, it’s the creation of it.”
McElheron’s art, and work from other people that use the studio, was put on display and sold on Thursday.
More than $500 was raised. That money will go back into the ‘AHA’ program.
