Big Love by Robert Anderson
Kevin Bennett
Marielle Benson 
International Adult
Learners’ Week (IALW) 2011 in Canada will be held from April 2nd through April
9th. The Week celebrates adult learners across the country and the joy of
learning throughout life.
In December 2009, The Belem Framework for Action, Sixth
International Conference on Adult Education, identified "the need to place
adult learning and education in a broader context of sustainable
development. It also states that
effective policy, good of good governance, financing, participation, inclusion,
equity, and quality are all necessary for adults and young people to exercise
their right to education."
The Kenora Association for Community Living supports adults with intellectual disabilities to live a meaningful and
satisfying lifestyle and interact as equals in their community with continuing
opportunities for personal growth, through education, training, support,
advocacy and an informed public.
For
example, the KACL Adult Literacy Centre provides educational
opportunities, access to the latest Information and Communication
Technologies. The Community Arts Hub;
provides community based adult learning opportunities; all abilities are
welcome.
·
Art
Partners; community visual arts
·
Rise to
the Rhythm; community hand drumming
·
In the
Key of Community; community singing
·
Word
Weaver's Inc; Writers Group; community creative writing
·
Community
Arts Hub Gardening;
·
Coffeehouse
Thursdays; sharing of stories, songs and poems
These
types of adult learning opportunities develop personal potential and encourage
citizens to live together in harmony and with dignity.
International Women's Day
Art Partners helped to mark International Women's Day hosted by the Kenora Women's Action Network at the Best Western Lakeside Inn on Monday March 8, 2011. A slide show featuring art by local female artists, including Art Partners Participants, was on display throughout the evening. In total 43 pieces of art were shown by 26 artists, 11 of whom are supported by KACL. Contributors to the slide show included LeeAnn Brown, Janis Contini, Jody Derouard, Johanna Hendrickson, Lois Kerr, Jean Martin, Mary Sandy, Sally Fox, Dale Watson, M.E. Sparks, Verena Strang and Raven Savage.
Art Partners also facilitated the creation of a large collaborative painting which was inspired by the event's theme "Empowering Ourselves through Art-100 Years of Art and Activism". The completed painting will be on display at various locations in the community in the coming months. Look for it at Lakewood on March 20th when it will be one of two Art Partners paintings to appear in the Respect our Diversity Art Exhibit celebrating International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.