Children of the Wind
An Exhibition of Children's Art
about their Lives

Montreal, February 5, 1999 — In conjunction with International Development Week, the McCord Museum is pleased to inaugurate an exhibition of 100 works exploring the lives of children through their art and in their own words. This unique exhibition is an extraordinary social document of contemporary history and is inspired, in part, by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children of the Wind is the result of workshops organized with children from across Canada and from Bangladesh, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Uganda and Zambia.   

The exhibition invites you to step inside the world of contemporary childhood, to reflect on the needs and concerns of children growing up at the end of the twentieth century. The exhibition is divided into four sections: 1) This Is Me — self-portraits; 2) When I Look at the World, This Is What I See; 3) This Is How I Spend My Day — child labour; and 4) I Remember, I Remember — child soldiers. This moving collection of self-portraits, story drawings, memory maps, time charts, photographs and painted "wish stones" contains a wide range of artistic styles. Descriptive accounts and symbolic representations speak eloquently of the artists' rich and sometimes difficult experiences, as well as their understanding and appreciation of the world.

The exhibition has received financial support from a wide range of funding and program partners both overseas and in Canada. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has supported all phases of the project's work. The McCord Museum invites you to come and witness the powerful testimonies of these artists. 

"The child shall have the right to freedom of expression... either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice." — Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 13.

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Source:
Annie Daoust
(514) 398-7100, ext. 251
annie@mcord.lan.mcgill.ca

The McCord wishes to acknowledge the support of the Heritage Canada Museums Assistance Program, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications and the Arts Council of the Montreal Urban Community.