* The photo shown above and the following article is re-posted in it's entirety, as originally found at:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=the-art-of-medicine/hnbfat6w
It was an unintended discovery - one made after following a chain of URL links - a chain that led me to this story that's reposted today. There are a number of interconnected threads, perhaps more than can be fully addressed here, but definitely aspects of "MENTORSHIP" and its significance in the world of the arts!
When you read this story, I'd encourage you to reflect for a moment on the importance that 'the arts' play within a free society. And when you grasp onto that realization, consider the very real and practical need to attend to the ‘business’ related aspects of those arts. Strengthening the health and vitality of the artistic community in turn strengthens the cultureal fabric of our society as a whole.
Within my own community, I'm looking forward to future steps that will provide additional value - bringing the ‘artistic community’ and the ‘business community’ together. Not only will it improve the financial position and strength of the artists who participate, but it will further enrich the character and vitality of the community at large, namely, those places where we live, work and enjoy quality time with each other.
Thank you to all of those (including those within the following story) who's efforts improve the enviroment and allows the full creativity of people to be shared with those around them, and the world.
Please enjoy the following reposted article and let us know your thoughts by providing us with your comments.
Sincerely,
- Jim Ewing, for all of us at Pro-Vision Solutions Inc.
October 28, 2013
By: Colonel Steve Plourde, AFAMS Advisory Team Leader
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”- Pablo Picasso
Hidden away in a mostly industrial neighborhood in Kabul, the small and seemingly austere home of the Centre for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) can easily be overlooked. However, within the small brick-walled compound lies true Afghan treasure in the form of talent, passion, courage and hope for the future.
This fortunate yet unlikely destination is a result of a voyage of sorts begun by Major Andrew Currie, a Medical Officer, assigned as a mentor to the Armed Forces Academy of Medical Science (AFAMS) in 2011, as part of the Canadian Contribution to the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan. A small team of Canadian Forces Health Services members have been serving on this mission as advisor-mentors to their Afghan counterparts to develop and implement a standardized, Afghan appropriate, medical education and training system for the Afghan National Security Forces.
Maj Currie, a skilled artist/cartoonist himself, began raising money from his fellow contingent members, in hopes of making a modest contribution to a yet-to-be-determined organization, in hopes of encouraging those who amid the ravages of war, find the inspiration to express the human condition through Art. Subsequent rotation members adopted the cause and continued fund-raising efforts and determined that an art school would be a worthy benefactor of this small but heartfelt gesture of assistance. The CCAA was identified as the target organization and effort began by members of the final mission rotation to locate and establish contact with this deserving centre.
The CCAA was founded in 2004 and is run by Rahraw Omarzad, a writer, artist, curator, journalist and professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Kabul. The CCAA is an independent artistic and cultural center in Kabul. In 2006, the centre changed focus and established the only women’s art center in Afghanistan. The main goal of CCAA is to provide equal opportunities for both men and women and to provide young artists the chance to express and improve their artistic talent as individual and creative artists, and implement a new way of looking at art in Afghan society. Previously repressed under the Taliban, the centre is working with artists in the fields of visual arts, installation, painting, video art, photography, and miniatures.
The 30th of September, 2013, a unique military mission was initiated. Accompanied by my Sergeant-Major, MWO Brad Olmstead, our CAF Imagery Technician MCpl Frieda Van Putten, and our ever-present soldiers providing force protection, we set out to the centre to make our small donation on behalf Maj Currie and of all who served the AFAMS Advisory mission. Navigating through the confused congestion of Kabul traffic, our two-vehicle convoy travelled but a short nine kilometers to reach the modest and relatively non-descript centre. Behind the rickety doors separating the inner buildings from the street, I was greeted by Ms. Bahar Falah, the Deputy Director who, with the traditional warmth of Afghan hospitality, quickly and most-politely invited us to sit and offered us Chai (tea).
We introduced ourselves and explained the history and reasoning for our donation to our appreciative hosts who were clearly surprised at this seemingly “out-of-the-blue” support for their oft-overlooked but tangible contribution to nation-building. What followed was truly inspiring. We were taken on a tour of the “studio”; a gravel-floor building at the rear of the austere compound, lined with various impressive works of art leaning against the otherwise barren concrete walls. There, a half-dozen young women perfected their craft. Each of them, with suppressed pride and visible passion, explained what they hoped to convey. Most were mixed reflections of pain, uncertainty, hope and emancipation. They touched each and every one of us by the depth and intensity of their works. It was hard to imagine why and how such expressions could be considered illegal and immoral a few short years ago.
The AFAMS Advisor Teams (2011-2013) raised and donated a total of 33 468 Afghani (about $600 USD) in order to support and encourage the fine and important work of the centre. A modest sum perhaps, yet an immense boost we were told, to this organization ability to continue and grow. As health services professionals, we appreciated the opportunity to focus on the less-physiological but no-less vital aspect of humanity’s ability to endure through artistic expression, no matter the circumstance; the Art of medicine indeed.
