On October 22 and 23, posAbilities celebrated its 10^th Anniversary INCLUSION Art Show featuring the works of BC artists with disabilities.

On the first evening, we hosted our first ever Art Showcase Fundraiser where guests donned their best black and white outfits for the semi-formal soiree.  The intimate gathering of over 100 guests at Heritage Hall was the perfect way to begin our 10^th anniversary celebrations as it featured the top 10 original paintings from each of several art studios and independent artists for sale.  Artists had the opportunity to mingle and network with the crowd to discuss ways in which they could display their work in new venues or to collaborate on other projects.  Guests were treated to some live music by the Tim Sars Band, as they perused the paintings and 21 silent auction items up for grabs.  Our group art project facilitated by Cindy Mateush from Alternative Creations Studio was a great success that saw many join in on the fun of creating art together.

The following day, we held our traditional Celebration of Art featuring over 500 pieces displayed for sale.  We were joined by hundreds of guests and had the most artists in attendance this year.  Even though we opened our doors earlier this year at 1:00pm, our cash sales coordinator, Jodie Bergeron, was happy to share that she barely had time to take a break as her cash table was swamped for the entire day! Also new this year, our Director of Community Engagement, Monique Nelson, was joined on stage by artists, team members and guests.  One of our guest MC’s in particular, Greg, was happy to take over from Monique and charm the crowd.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who work tirelessly to make this art show happen each and every year: our fellow associations and independents artists for participating and showcasing their work; our staff for supporting persons served in both creating their art and in attending; the Art Show committee for their dedication and hard work leading up to and during the event; and to all of our incredible volunteers for their commitment of time and energy – we couldn’t do it without you!

posAbilities would also like to thank the following 2014 INCLUSION Art Show Sponsors: City of Vancouver, BCGEU, Austin Gourmet, Dawson Service Ltd., Queen’s Park Dental and the many small businesses and private donors who contributed to our show this year.