Sault artist raising money for residential school survivors
A Sault Ste. Marie woman is raising money for residential school survivors through her art. Her sketch of the shoe memorial on the front steps of Algoma University continues to bring in donations - even though she had no intention of selling this particular piece.
Amy Williams said her art project began with a suggestion from her friends that she do a portrait of the residential school memorial at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. After working on it for several hours, she posted her finished piece on social media. What followed was a number of requests from interested buyers. But, she was hesitant to sell.
"I thought, no, I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to dream about even making any kind of money off of this," Williams said. "But then it just took me a second and I thought if I did make some money, then I could really donate to one of the causes that would help survivors."
Williams began selling prints and has so far collected more than $5,000 for the Shingwauk Residential School Centre. And now, her original portrait will be given a permanent home in the Shingwauk Hall exhibit at Algoma University.
"I couldn’t be more flattered, more honoured that they would want my piece hanging there in their permanent exhibition," Williams said. "I couldn’t be more touched."
Asima Vezina, the president of Algoma University, said Williams' portrait will make a great addition to the Shingwauk exhibit.
"She’s really captured a moment in the site’s history and I think in the history of Canada and she’s done so with such good intentions," Vezina said. "I think it’s just fitting that she be recognized for that."
Vezina said donations to the Shingwauk Centre have spiked in recent weeks.
"We’ve had a lot of donations from community members as well as from foundations," she said. "I think because people see the important work that the children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and former residential school survivors are doing and planning to do on the site."
Meanwhile, Williams said she will continue to sell prints of her residential school memorial portrait through her Facebook page until June 16.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.