Adrienne has spent many hours in her life doing portraits of women and children; working in oils and pastels. When she worked as a temp secretary, she would paint in the early hours of the morning before going to work. When she got fired, practicing her art would be her salvation.She moved to the DTES in 2001 and painted in SROs until she landed a social housing unit in 2002. Arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome started to effect her in 2003, forcing her to abandon painting for a few years. She filled the gap by doing lots of volunteer work in the arts community and in the Carnegie Community Centre where she has served on the board since 2007. She also teaches ESL and computers in the Learning Centre and loves every minute of it. She worked for the Shire Project for a few years and learned the art of digital storytelling; which she plans on doing more of in the future.
It has given me exposure to different artists and friends in the art world of Vancouver.
By giving them a voice in the arts community.
It has strengthened the community by giving confidence to many marginalized people.