Early in December we put out a call and an ad for children living in Richmond in grade 4 and 5, to participate in this event, which was made possible by a grant we received from Canadian Heritage.

The initial response was slow and then as the deadline of Jan 8 approached, and we went directly to the schools. This worked, we were buried in applications, however some of them too late to fit them in, so we ended up with over 80 but unfortunately had some no-shows leaving us with over 70 painted shirts.

This was a complex project that required us to purchase the correct size of white T-shirt for each child, the paints, and the other supplies for painting. We also had to cut cardboard to size and wrap it with wax paper to prevent the paint from adhering to the back side, plus create a name tag for each child as well as a special label for each shirt with the child's name, age, grade and school. Whew!

Then for 2 Sundays we held 5 sessions at The Arts Connection in Steveston, (who generously donated their dance room to hold the size of the sessions). They also supplied the brushes etc. The children arrived got their name tag and shirt, we gave them hints and instructions including what they could NOT paint (Vanoc rules) and for 1 1/2 hours they painted their "Vision" of what it meant to them. A big job!

A big thank you to Michael Shirley, Klaas Focker, Natasha (our president), Jodie Blaney, Marcy Johnson and Angela Cavadas and of course Linda Shirley, member and owner of the Arts Connection, for all the time and effort they put in and for giving up those precious Sundays. Also to the members who ironed the shirts after they were dry and who stuffed the cardboard into the shirts before hand.

The results were great and the exhibition, which runs from January 25 – February 24th at our Artisans’ Galleria shows the imagination of the participants. You will see everything from a maple leaf to the Canada Line, I believe, and of course torches. This is a “once in a lifetime project” so don’t miss it!

Margaret Stephens - co-ordinator
A Child's Vision of the Olympic Torch Relay
A Special Project between Canadian Heritage and the Community Arts Council of Richmond