The Visual Arts Centre has helped spearhead the event as part of a new program we’ve launched called Art in the Community. Its purpose is to move art more out into the community to work with other institutions in ways that help groups or organizations in need. With continued cuts in funding to the health and social sectors (not to mention the cultural sector, but that’s another story), collaborative efforts such as this, undertaken with Second Cup and the Agenda Project, are becoming more and more commonplace out of necessity.

Certainly the Children’s Art Agenda Project supports a worthy cause— research into pediatric illness. The group is now into their third edition of what can only be termed a beautiful agenda. The quality of the works are very high, and not just for children. In fact, it was the beauty of the colour reproductions in the agenda that struck me long before the cause did. The artworks have been submitted by children from all over Quebec and Canada.

“The idea,” notes Roger Dery, who helped start the project, “is to raise funds for pediatric research but also to encourage the pursuit and development of personal creative expression. Most important, it is children helping children. ”The Children’s Art Agenda Project quickly drew the support of Ysabelle Duchesne, Second Cup’s manager at Le Faubourg. “Second Cup franchises are very committed to these kinds of projects. Our work with this project and with Foster Parents Plan allow us to give back to children in a meaningful way. And, we are really excited about having kids are work on the walls.”

Visual Art Centre’s teachers will be there on Sunday helping the children paint their carved out corner of the mural and no doubt trying to bring order to chaos!

Certainly this is the kind of activity that encourages children to get involved in a creative activity and to express themselves. But, I second Roger’s comment that is also about teaching kids that they can get involved in helping others less fortunate. That’s an important lesson that comes much more convincingly form the “doing” than the “talking about.”