Media release: Bid for a cause in Community Living Huntsville’s Artists for Inclusion 2022

A smiling woman stands indoors and holds a small framed landscape painting while standing in front of a faux fireplace. On the fireplace mantle sits three paintings, 2 ceramic mugs, a handcrafted wood cutting board, and a whittled wooden duck.

Jennifer Jerrett, Community Engagement Specialist for Community Living Huntsville, encourages everyone to bid in the Artists for Inclusion 2022 online auction. Proceeds support the not-for-profit organization’s Transitional Housing initiative. Photo by Community Living Huntsville.

North Muskoka – A bid can win you some fine Muskoka art and help take action on homelessness, too.

Community Living Huntsville hosts Artists for Inclusion, its second annual online auction of fine art, from June 20 to July 4, 2022. Funds raised support the not-for-profit organization’s Transitional Housing initiative for marginalized young men with developmental disabilities who have experienced homelessness.

The auction features more than 80 items, including paintings, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, fibre art, woodwork, hand-painted canoe paddles, birch bark décor, prints, and photography, contributed by local artists, craftspeople, and donors.

“I believe in the great work that Community Living does in our town and, as a local artist, this is my way to contribute to one of the initiatives that support people with developmental disabilities,” says Helena Renwick, a renowned Huntsville artist who has contributed her piece, Whimsical Pine, to the auction. “There is an excellent mix of fine art, photography, jewelry, and limited reproductions in the auction this year. People should bid on the pieces to support Community Living and, in turn, receive beautiful art created and donated by local artists.”

Contributors also include Miranda Britton, Jerry Friedman, Rob Stimpson, Muskoka Jewellery Design, Johnathan Bullock, Marike MacDonald, The Hunt House, Catherine O’Mara, Shirley Prittie, Ron Henry Jewellers, and more.

Jennifer Jerrett, Community Engagement Specialist for Community Living Huntsville, says the organization’s team members have routinely witnessed people and families they support unable to find, afford, or maintain adequate living space in North Muskoka due to low availability, cost, competition, and systemic barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic only made it worse.

“We launched our Transitional Housing initiative to offer short-term housing with related supports to people we support who have experienced homelessness, so they can build the stability, skills, and community connection needed to be in the running for permanent housing in our community,” says Jerrett. “The initiative relies on fundraisers, donations, and charitable grants. Your auction bids will help pull young adults with developmental disabilities out of precarious conditions and into a better future.”

Visit the Artists for Inclusion 2022 auction site at GalaBid.com/clhuntsville-2022 to register and bid. Bidding ends Monday, July 4, at 8:00 PM.

Community Living Huntsville is a not-for-profit, registered charity that supports and advocates alongside people with developmental disabilities to live, work, and play in unique and purposeful ways in North Muskoka. The organization celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2022. Find more at clhuntsville.ca or follow @clhuntsville on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.