Portrait project reframes homelessness in Moncton
Dieppe artist says work with Ensemble changed the way she sees people on the streets who are struggling
Dieppe artist Amy Welner never dreamed her love of painting would change her perspective of people who are struggling in her community.
Earlier this year she created a portrait of her husband after ending a 20-year career in the insurance industry.
At the same time, her son, James Paddle, started interning with Ensemble Moncton, a harm reduction non-profit that works with people who are struggling with addiction.
Paddle is a medical student at l'Universite de Sherbrooke and Welner was moved when he told her about the work Ensemble does.
"It really surprised me how it could happen to anybody," she said.
Welner, her two sisters and her mother worked together to create a series of 15 portraits of clients and staff at Ensemble as part of the first Silhouette Project Art Gala. On Friday, it was displayed at a fundraising auction at the l'Universite de Sherbrooke campus in Moncton.
Debby Warren, executive director of Ensemble, said the project turned into a way to educate the public about addiction disorder.
"It's a way for people to see that it's everyday people."
Warren said it was meaningful to Ensemble's clients to be asked to share their stories and sit for the artists.
"They felt valued by being listened to, that people even would care about what their story was but it also was a teaching moment for the artists."
Welner said she instantly connected with the people she met and wanted to reflect their stories through art.
"Their humanness came out so much more during that time that I was really able to capture something from them," she said.
"They were very generous to sit with me and allow me to meet with them and take their photos."
'It really changed me'
Welner said what she learned about herself and her perceptions have stuck with her.
She said as clients opened up about how they became homeless or about their addictions, she began to rethink her own preconceptions.
"I didn't really understand how something like this could happen to someone. They explained to me ... what led them down this road and I thought to myself, 'My gosh, that could have been me.'"
Welner said one woman's story of addiction made her reflect on a time in her own life when she was grieving the loss of someone close to her and how she could have turned to drugs or alcohol to relieve the pain.
Welner's sister Laura Abudo said taking part in the project has meant a lot to her.
"I feel like I know these people even though I don't know them," Abudo said. "I look into the faces, and I see them just as everybody else."
Portrait displayed downtown
One of Welner's paintings is a colourful, pop-art-style portrait of a homeless woman, selected to be part of Downtown Moncton's mural series.
It's part of the city's new Accent project, which encouraged artists to submit works to be displayed on the windows of buildings unoccupied or under construction.
"I think that's really significant. She's up there. She's representing our city now, so that one I'm quite proud of."
Welner hopes people will absorb the message behind the portraits.
"I truly believe that if everyone could just take a minute ... learn something about what's going on down there and the clients themselves, they might come away with ... a different perspective and maybe looking for solutions instead of a lot of blaming."
"It changed me and I think it could change other people, too."
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