SARC commemorates 50 years with art piece
It’s been an incredible year celebrating SARC’S 50th Anniversary. Throughout the year, we have been reflecting on those 50 years – how societal views and philosophies on providing services to people experiencing disability have changed and continue to change, and how SARC Members have been at the forefront of leading that change in Saskatchewan.
We wanted to do something special to mark this milestone, and we decided that creating a commemorative art piece would be a fun way to do it. Early in 2018, SARC put out a call for artists to SARC members to submit the names of people they support who have a particular love of art and creative expression and would want to help with this project. Four names were randomly selected to collaborate with Karlie King, another artist from Regina.
The wonderful people at Saskatoon Community Youth Arts Programming (SCYAP) lent us the studio space, and we were off to work! The five artists shared their ideas and talents to create an art piece that reflects on the past 50 years and what the next 50 years looks like for people experiencing disability.
Profiled in a documentary video about the experience, Amy Mcneil, SARC’S Executive Director, said, “In the past, it was common practice to label people with intellectual disabilities as mentally retarded, or mentally handicapped. They were placed in institutions, segregated schools or workplaces, and in those locations, they had very few rights and they had very few experiences and opportunities. Choices were made for them, not by them. Today, individuals experiencing disability live among their friends, their family, they hold down jobs, they vote, own homes, play sports, volunteer, make music and create art just like the pieces of art that we have been creating.”
During the brainstorming, the group identified that it wanted the art piece to reflect this evolution and show movement, momentum, inclusion, and positivity. It will serve as a visual cornerstone for SARC and our Members on how far we have come and the progress we want to make into the next 50 years.
The unveiling took place at a banquet at SARC’S annual Fall Conference on October 24, 2018. It was a wonderful celebration with our Members, and we were thrilled to have our five artists – Karlie, Dale, Faith, Irene, and Jack – therewithus!
SARC Members are passionate about supporting people to direct their own lives according to their dreams and goals; it is a very exciting time, and SARC looks forward to the continued work with our Members to support people to live in inclusive communities.
To watch the documentary video on the development of our commemorative art piece, visit: