Elizabeth Collins wants the public to know that people with addictions are human, too.
“We all have a story. We all come from somewhere and we’re all going somewhere,” she said.
That’s the idea behind a new community art project from the River Stone Recovery Centre in collaboration with Fredericton-based performing arts company Solo Chicken Productions.
The River Stone Recovery Centre is a clinic in downtown Fredericton providing different services to people with substance use disorder. These include oral therapies like suboxone or methadone, stimulant replacement therapy, injectable opioid agonist treatment and housing supports.
‘It’s been my lifesaver’
Collins came to the clinic three years ago after a community barbecue where she learned about the project.
Along with participating in the clinic, she also works there.
Elizabeth Collins, an employee and participant at the River Stone Recovery Centre, says the centre has been her ‘lifesaver.’ (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
“It’s been my lifesaver,” she said.
Collins was also a large part of the community art project, which was largely headed by Solo Chicken Productions’s artistic producer Lisa Anne Ross.
Ross said it all started when the centre reached out to her several months ago expressing interest in doing an art-based project that “fostered a sense of compassion in the community for the clients of the River Stone Centre.”
“I went away and I thought about that, what the River Stone [centre] is trying to achieve, and some of the challenges that the clients at the centre face in the community, some of the stereotypes that they face, the daily issues they face, and I came back with this idea,” said Ross.
The idea, she said, is an exhibition of poetry and portraits featuring the centre’s faces and the stories behind them.
Humanizing people with addictions
Featured VideoRiver Stone Recovery Centre teamed up with Solo Chicken Productions on an art project to showcase the stories and faces behind the Fredericton centre.
It’s called I Am Here: Postcards from the Edge and on Nov. 16, the gallery will launch at the Fredericton Public Library showcasing a series of professional portraits and poetry written about and with the centre participants.
Along with that, a collection of postcards are currently being produced with the portraits and poetry on them. Ross said these will be distributed to the community, specifically in the downtown area.
A ‘message of compassion’
“We wanted them to be a quietly public way of delivering this message of compassion,” she said. “Nobody gets good mail anymore. All we get is, you know, flyers from Harvey’s. So my hope is that people will open their mailbox and there’ll be this beautiful postcard.”
Ross started meeting with the participants at the centre in April. She would listen to their stories and help write a poem sharing a bit about them.
Solo Chicken Productions’s artistic producer Lisa Anne Ross started meeting with the participants at the River Stone Recovery Centre in April to hear their stories. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
She said, since she started the project, she learned something new — not just as an artist but as a person.
“I live on Charlotte Street, and I’m an active person in my community. I like to get to know my neighbours,” said Ross.
“I think the most poignant thing for me, as a Fredericton resident, was that many of the clients are actually my neighbours and they’re people that I see on a daily basis. And so for me, that drew a new picture of my neighbourhood and of my city. I have new friends, I have new neighbours — it changed the landscape for me.”
The gallery at the Fredericton Public Library will showcase framed portraits and poetry of the River Stone Recovery Centre participants. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
Bobbi Fitzgerald has a poem and portrait that will be included in the Postcards from the Edge project.
She said there’s some anxiety that comes with putting herself out there.
“It’s the story part, you know, putting a face to the words,” said Fitzgerald. “I kind of kept my addiction hidden for a long time or as low profile as I possibly could. And now, it’s just kind of out there.”
Fitzgerald said she never expected she would be where she is today. When she came to the clinic two and a half years ago, she gave herself six months.
But a year later, she even got a job at the centre and said her addiction is now under control.
Bobbi Fitzgerald says she never expected she would be where she is today. She’s working at the recovery centre and says her addiction is under control. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
Dr. Sara Davidson, the medical director at the River Stone Recovery Centre, said something she’s learned over her years in practice has been that “you can always get someone stable from a medical point of view, but then it’s now what, what’s next?”
‘Feel the humanity’
Davidson said she’s had different guest artists and groups come into the centre as a way to foster community building and joy.
She said getting Ross on board was an opportunity to bring out the creativity of the clinic’s participants and share their stories.
“My hope is people that will come and see the artwork, that will read the stories, they’ll really feel the humanity that’s shared between people [regardless] of where they live, what their postal code is, or what their life experience is and that everyone is worth investing in,” said Davidson.
Dr. Sara Davidson, the medical director at the River Stone Recovery Centre, says the art project was an opportunity to bring out the creativity of the clinic’s participants and share their stories. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
For Allan Griffin, another employee and participant at the centre, his life experience is partly rooted in work ethic. He grew up in a home in Digby, N.S., where that was a core value.
It’s part of the reason he finds himself working three days a week at the centre and once a week at the Fredericton Library.
Griffin said he’s had major back pain his whole life, which eventually led to him becoming addicted to opiates.
So two years ago he came to the centre with hopes to soon move back to Vancouver, where he lived for 20 years prior to coming to Fredericton.
Allan Griffin, an employee and participant at the centre, says after meeting the people and the staff at the centre, he decided to stick around instead of moving back to Vancouver. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
But his mind changed after meeting the people and the staff at the centre — something the new art exhibit hopes to showcase.
When asked what he wants people to take away from the project, Griffin answered with one word — “Hope.
“That’s all that I hope for on a daily basis, just hope, and that one day can be as good as the next.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
