A self-portrait by a Victoria photographer has been named as the best photograph in a national exhibition that recently opened at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.
Rajneesh Fontana’s photograph, I Me Myself 2012, shows the artist painting a band of yellow paint across her face and eyes. It was intended as a statement about abused and oppressed women under the theme of Freedom of Expression.
“This is my self-portrait, for all those women who experience abuse, who have no voice, freedom or equality,” said Fontana of her picture. “You can take a stand and be who you are. We all need to support each other for a better world and a better future.”
Other themed categories in the competition included Reconciliation, Inclusion and Diversity, Human Rights and the Environment, the best youth submission and the best photograph of the exhibition.
The installation, Points of View: A National Human Rights Photography Exhibition, is made up of 70 photographs chosen from almost 1,000 submissions from across Canada. The exhibition was created to mark the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation.
Fontana’s photograph was also one of five turned into sculpted, 3-D images embedded with tactile audio sensors, enabling visitors with visual impairments to “see” the art through their fingertips.
Voting for a People’s Choice award is underway in the gallery and online, where all the photos in the exhibition can also be viewed. Voting ends Jan. 7, 2018, with the award recipient to be announced on Jan. 16.
The photographs in this exhibition are now part of Canada’s national collection and will be accessible to researchers, scholars and the general public in perpetuity, helping preserve an aspect of Canadian heritage for future generations.
For more information, go to humanrights.ca.
To see more of Fontana’s work, go to raphotographystudio.ca.
Handcrafted figures celebrate Canada 150
Get a light-hearted look at Canada’s 150 years at The Good Old Daze Scarecrow Festival, running July 4 to 13, at the Mill Bay Centre in Mill Bay.
The festival features 97 life-size handcrafted figures created by the Mill Bay/Malahat Historical Society, 60 businesses and community groups. Proceeds from the event support the society’s new Heritage Museum.
People can vote for the Best Figure Award. A free map and ballots can be picked up at any of the Mill Bay businesses. There will also be a scavenger hunt for children, and these forms will also be entered in a draw for prizes.
The fun finale is July 13 with an awards ceremony, a barbeque and live music by the Alf Carter Trio.
The figures are free to view 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. July 4 to 13 at the Mill Bay Centre and surrounding area, next to Highway 1. The wrap-up event takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. on July 13.
For more information, go to millbaymalahathistory.com.
Water-garden tours to help Tanzanian kids
Touch the lives of children in Tanzania by attending the For the Love of Africa Water Garden Tour, July 8 at various locations in Greater Victoria.
This is the 11th year of the fundraising event, which sees people taking a self-guided tour of 11 of Victoria’s finest water gardens.
The tour is suitable for children 12 and older. Please note that the tour is not wheelchair friendly.
Tickets are $25. The tour runs 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 8. A map of the gardens is included with the ticket.
Proceeds from the event benefit the For the Love of Africa Society, who has builds schools, a medical dispensary and an orphan centre in Tanzania. Tickets can be purchased from select vendors or online at watergardentour.ca. For more information, go to fortheloveofafrica.ca.
We have a pair of tickets to the event to give away. For your chance to win, send an email to contest@timescolonist.com. Put Giveaway in the subject line and give us your name, phone number and the prize you would like to win.
The deadline is noon on Wednesday. We will pick entries at random and notify winners Wednesday. If you have won a prize in the past 60 days, you are not eligible. Good luck.
Peanut butter and mustard go together
Staff at The Mustard Seed were understandably a little squirrelly last week with the donation of more than 1,250 jars of peanut butter for families in need.
The collection was the successful culmination of Project Peanut Butter, an initiative of Victoria business Merry Maids of Victoria.
This was the third year of the fun event. In the past eight weeks, Merry Maids of Victoria employees donated and collected peanut butter from clients. The successful event was made possible by a large donation from local peanut-butter company Island Nut Roastery.
Peanut butter is a much-loved, protein-rich food that works well for families in need.
Last week more than 30 employees of Merry Maids also volunteered at The Mustard Seed facility for the morning.
The Mustard Seed helps people living in poverty in Victoria, including families and the working poor. For more information, go to mustardseed.ca.
Pacific Women’s Day looking for presenters
The Military Family Resource Centre is now accepting applications for workshop presenters at their Pacific Women’s Day, which takes place Nov. 25.
The annual women’s conference for military members, military spouses/partners, DND employees and friends of the military community includes workshops, a buffet lunch and activities designed to relax the body and re-energize the spirit.
They are also accepting applications at this time for the accompanying vendor marketplace.
For more information, go to esquimaltmfrc.com/event/pacific-womens-day.
Camosun College honours therapeutic gym
Move Adapted Fitness and its manager, Laura Guido, have been awarded the Sport and Exercise Co-op Employer of The Year award from Camosun College.
Move is a non-profit adapted gymnasium for people with physical limitations.
Students in kinesiology, athletic and exercise therapy as well as exercise and wellness programs from Camosun College and the University of Victoria need to include hands-on work experience as a vital part of their education.
The students from these programs volunteer their time, working one-on-one with clients with a wide range of physical limitations, including brain injury, spinal cord injury, MS, Parkinson’s, the after-effects of stroke and others.
The award recognizes the facility and Guido for mentoring more than 25 students.
“Being at MOVE is a real life experience after the theory of the classroom,” said Guido.
“Our clients love their enthusiasm, their high level of skills and their dedication. The students find out how fulfilling their profession can be, seeing the progress our clients are making.”
Guido’s position is made possible through grants from the Victoria Foundation and B.C. Lottery Corporation.
For more information, go to moveadaptedfitness.ca.
Kids can read their way out of library fines
Is your child hesitant to go to the library because they have existing library fines and can’t pay them?
For some families, the financial barriers of library fines can present a significant challenge, along with a sense of embarrassment associated with the fines.
This summer they can read their fines away at the Vancouver Island Regional Library’s Summer Reading Club Read Down Your Fines program.
Children 12 and under can get their fill of books — and have $5 of library fines waived for each Summer Reading Club Reading Record page they complete. Each child is eligible for a total fine reduction of $35.
“The goals of Read Down Your Fines are to encourage families to return to their library and to foster a love of reading at a young age,” said Rosemary Bonanno, the library’s executive director.
“Studies show that reading as few as three to five books over the summer months can help elementary students maintain or improve their reading levels for the school year. School-aged literacy is integral to developing lifelong library customers.”
The program kicks off on Tuesday and continues all summer. Participants receive a package that includes their reading record, a bookmark, a tattoo and a magnifying mirror.
Registration is now open at all Vancouver Island Regional Library branches.
More information is available at facebook.com/myvirl.
Apps help Canadians feed Haitian kids
The United Nations World Food Programme recently launched their #ASK1TOASK1 campaign, asking Canadians to join the challenge to provide 150,000 meals for children in Haiti through the ShareTheMeal app to mark Canada’s 150th anniversary.
Every day, many children in Haiti turn up for school on an empty stomach, which makes it hard to focus on lessons.
A daily school meal can mean not only better nutrition and health, but help the next generation reach its full potential. It costs just $4.55 to provide one week of nutritious meals to children in school.
The #ASK1TOASK1 ShareTheMeal campaign will allow the food program to scale up their Home Grown School Meals program in Haiti.
The app allows users to share nutritious food with hungry children around the world by simply tapping on their smartphone to donate $0.65 or more.
“The ShareTheMeal app and the #ASK1TOASK1 campaign provides Canadians with an easy way to share meals with hungry children in Haiti,” said Robert Opp, director of Innovation and Change Management. “Daily school meals allow children to focus on their studies rather than their stomachs, feeding their dreams for the future.”
Haiti has been repeatedly affected by a series of devastating natural disasters over the past two decades.
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. In Haiti, it is working together with the government to produce a sustainable, nationally owned school feeding program linked to local agricultural production.
To get involved, simply download the free app (iOS and Android), join team #Canuck, and once you have fed a child for a week share with your social media network, using the hashtag #ASK1TOASK1.
Download the app at: http://ow.ly/IucL30cAl5h.
For more information, go to sharethemeal.org/canuck.
Lawn-bowling fundraiser fights cystic fibrosis
Join together to help fight for a cure for cystic fibrosis at Lawn Summer Nights, a lawn-bowling fundraiser held over four weeks in Victoria and 12 other cities across Canada.
Watch more than 200 people competing in corporate teams at the event, which started in 2009. The event has raised more than $2 million for Cystic Fibrosis Canada and engaged thousands of young professionals in philanthropy and community leadership.
Participating companies include Bowker Creek Dental, Phillips Brewing, Deloitte, Pretio, Spinco, Metrics Chartered Professional Accounting, HeartPress PR, Race Online, El Furniture and KPMG.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. It is a multi-system disease that mainly affects the lungs and the digestive system. Most deaths related to cystic fibrosis are due to lung disease. There are 4,000 Canadians living with the disease.
Tickets are $30 per evening and includes entry, dinner and one beverage. The event starts at 6 p.m. Thursdays July 6, 13, 20 and 27 at the Victoria Lawn Bowling Club, 100 Cook St.
For more information about Lawn Summer Nights, go to bit.ly/2sW5r8Q.
