October 14 opening: Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf's homebound artists

The artists may be bound to their homes, but this month thanks to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and CarShare Vermont, their art won’t be! These two local non-profits have teamed up to bring the works of several homebound artists out from behind close doors in a show entitled “Art from Home: A Personal Journey”. This show was the inspiration of Alice Anton, homebound program coordinator for the Chittenden Food Shelf.  She realized that despite a profound sense of isolation and loneliness, several folks had special talents. “For many of the people showing their art pieces, it will be the first time their art will be hung on a wall and viewed by others,” says Anton. “The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is fostering a sense of community for the participants and giving the program participants a connection with the greater Burlington community.”

When Anton was looking for a space to show, she was looking for a business that attracts people from all walks of life, and one that is mindful of its connection with the region and the community.  That’s when she discovered CarShare Vermont. Community is a central component of the vision of CarShare Vermont. It is for this reason that CarShare Vermont is delighted to have the opportunity to share their walls with the Chittenden Food Shelf artists for the month. “Sharing is a fantastic way to encourage community awareness and health,” Karen McNeill Saielli, outreach coordinator at CarShare Vermont said. “While we generally reserve our wall space for our member-artists, sharing our walls with this group of artists seemed like a great opportunity to enhance our community.”

The upcoming show will feature about twenty art pieces, with a variety of styles and techniques including acrylic paintings, oil, charcoal drawing, and poetry. Most homebound individuals choose to represent scenes from memory or from their imagination, but portraits and abstracts are also among pieces the viewers will appreciate. Creating art is a way for clients to escape their daily routine. For homebound client Claire, poetry is a way “to live vicariously through other people and remember when I could walk”.

“Art from Home: A Personal Journey” will be showing from October 14^th to November 15^th at the CarShare Vermont office at 131 St. Paul Street in downtown Burlington. An opening reception will be held October 14^th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Drop by, see the works, and support these amazing folks! This is a free event.