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Gaze through eyes of Self Advocates at new art show

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The Revelstoke Self-Advocates


A group of long-time local artists are about to have their first art show ever when their new exhibit opens at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre on Friday.

Through My Eyes shows the collective works of the Revelstoke Self Advocates, a group of nine developmentally disabled adults that worked with the arts centre to produce a show for public display.

“They’ve done art work ever since our program started,” said Angie Martin, the Community Connections support worker who helped organize the program. “A lot of our clients are non-verbal as well, so it’s a great form of expression for them.”

Each Self Advocate created a painting, ceramic tile, bowl and photo collage for the show. They started by taking pictures around town and then, working with Jackie Pendergast and Sandra Flood, they used those photos as inspiration for their art.

“For the most part, it was their own creativity,” said Martin. “They had a lot of freedom with the projects.”

Each Self Advocate had their own favourite aspects of the project. Cam Anderson said he liked the pottery the most. He created a tile showcasing the mountain scenery around Revelstoke. John Bishop was a fan of the painting aspect, and did one of Castle Joe’s bookstore.

“It was interesting to see what their perspective was and how they transferred it from the photo to different art projects,” said Martin.

All the works they created were gathered and will be featured at the arts centre. They will be for sale and the money raised will go towards the Community Living program.

“They do know it’s going to shown to the community so I think that added to them taking a little bit more pride in their work.,” said Martin.

Through My Eyes opens Friday, June 10 at 6 p.m. and runs until July 1. Also on display will be Wednesday Inspirations by the Wednesday Meditation Group and IN/side/OUT by Jewelles Smith.