Art from the Unknown II

After a three year hiatus, the Art from the Unknown show last night was like a tiny Persian miniature compared to the huge sprawling canvas of other years. Paintings were mostly from I-Human a youth oriented arts program and the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts for special needs artists, rather than the huge cattle call for just any non-gallery supported artist the way it was done in the past. It was held at a smaller venue, the Catalyst Theater, a very small and intimate live stage instead of the Arts Barn, a huge, drafty barely renovated bus garage. There were a very limited number of paintings and artists. Also like a Persian miniature, a perfectly done, short program including a speech by Raj Pannu telling us how hard it was to get his Constituency Association to accept funding such a radical project, and a couple of hip hop ballads.

Caregivers

Today I went to the Edmonton Street News Vendor Christmas party, ate too much of the obligatory overcooked turkey and way too heavy donated cheesecake. Feel totally bloated and yech. Serves me right for being a pig.

I don't really have too much to do with the day to day activities of Edmonton Street News. I just do the layout because I believe if everyone would do something, even a small something, the world would be a better place for everyone. I sold papers on a street corner for four years and worked in the office doing distribution for another street newspaper so I'm no stranger to the environment. But sometimes I just get really irritated at some of the bullshit that goes down on the street.

For instance, two hours after our little event, while we were cleaning up and getting ready to go home, about ten people, not vendors or in any way connected to the paper, walked into the Mission. We told them, “we're sorry, lunch is over, foods all gone, closing up now.” Linda told them, there are a few sandwiches they could take with them. Instead they sat down at the tables and settled in. Half an hour later we are still asking for them to let us close the mission up, when this woman started yelling at me.

“I sleep in a dumpster, it's cold out there, we need a place to get warm, you don't know what it's like! You don't give a damn.” etc etc.

Just about lost it with her, the other volunteer ladies were beginning to look nervous. It's not that I expect people to grovel because I'm willing to donate a few days work every month to the cause, but I do feel that I can ask for commonplace good manners from everyone, everywhere. We didn't advertise we were running a drop in and warm up centre for the afternoon, we invited people for lunch. I think that's the hardest thing about doing any kind of volunteer work in the inner city. The lack of simple politeness. I really admire the people who stay out there on the front lines for year after year. Takes a special kind of forbearance to put up with abuse like that every day. I made sure I brought enough scarves for the volunteers too as well as the lady vendors. Sometimes the care givers need a little care too.

Art from the Unknown

Ten years ago, in an excess of social justice zeal, I challenged a ruling of the Alberta Social Services Appeal Panel in Queen's Bench. With the help of a lady friend far braver than I, The Edmonton Social Planning Council and a lawyer willing to work pro bono for media exposure I took my complaint about what I considered unfair treatment into Provincial Court. It was pretty wild, the newspapers and TV loved it. My friends and people in the local Social Justice Community tried to help me raise some funds to pay the filing fees and other court related expenses by setting up venues where I could put up artwork for sale. These sales were not particularly successful.

Pam Barret head of the NDP Party party at that time, was very supportive in issuing press releases and letting us use their photocopier. Then Raj Pannu, the NDP MLA from Edmonton/Strathcona, gadfly and goad of the Conservative hegemony, decided to host an art show featuring not only my work, but also the work of any other artists in the community who were not getting any gallery action. The response was phenomenal, in the numbers of people who submitted work, in the quality of the work and in the number of people who came to the showing. The show Art from the Unknown became an early winter tradition for many years thereafter. Then Raj stopped doing them and shortly thereafter announced that he would not run for office in the next election. This year I will be able to attend another installation, tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to seeing Raj Pannu (Raj Against the Machine), Strathcona's beloved MLA one last time, maybe get to thank him for ten years well spent in public service. Only politician I ever liked, and I never voted in his riding.

My challenge in Queen's Bench didn't accomplish much. The first judge looked at the case and told the Provincial lawyers, this decision is no good because you have given this lady no reason for your decision. She is entitled to know why the Appeal Panel reached this decision.

Went back to the Appeal Panel. The program designer wailed,

”She wrecked my program!”

They came up with 13 pages of reasons why it was appropriate to turf me out of the program. We went back to Queen's Bench again, the second judge came up with nine pages of circular arguments about why the Appeal Panel was right. I guess I could have appealed that judgment at a higher court, but I figured I had gotten as much justice as I or my friends could afford to pay for by this time. My therapist estimated by the time they had paid all those billable hours for the Provinces lawyers I had probably cost the government at least $10,000.00. Drop in the Alberta oil bucket.

Anyway, I'm so happy that Raj, (or rather his fabulously creative Administrative Assistant) did the Art from the Unknown show. That is the single most valuable and useful positive energy that came out of my whole Quixotic joust with the powers that be.

I even met an old friend I hadn't seen since the early sixties at that first show. We used to drink cheap wine and listen to Barbara Streisand together when we were teenagers. She had some paintings in the show. That was magic.

I hope to bring back a sampling from this years show. Maybe I'll run into some other old friends.