Summary
Organization name
Barnabas 22 : The Art of Encouragement
Categories
Arts & Culture, Animals, Community
Address
405 First Avenue NWGrand Rapids, MN 55744
Barnabas 22 is a project which aims to shed light on the statistic from the Veterans Administration that each day 22 veterans are lost to suicide. The project began as an art exhibit of 22 chalk pastel portraits of service dogs and emotional support animals. Barnabas 22 has now evolved into an ongoing effort to provide encouragement and support to veterans through portraits of their service animals.
Each dog is an important part of the life of a military veteran and an essential part of their wellbeing. The stories of these veterans and their devoted battle buddies shows the important difference that a service animal can make in preventing suicide and promoting healing.
Your support helps fund the creation, framing, and shipping of one-of-a-kind portraits of service animals to veterans across the United States.
About the Artist
Mary Myers Corwin is a chalk pastel artist in northern Minnesota. She was an Artist in Residence from 2016 - 2020 with the City of Grand Rapids Arts and Culture Commission’s residency program in Old Central School, which began when she retired from her job of more than 20 years as support staff for the Grand Rapids, MN Police Department.
Mary began painting in the 1980s and studied with Jackie Jensen Dingmann of Grand Rapids. In recent years her primary focus has been on creating portraits of dogs in chalk pastel. She was a winner of the 2017 Dick Blick Pet Portrait national contest and her dog portraits have been recognized in both the 2018 and 2019 Juried Art Exhibition at MacRostie Art Center.
Mary has a passion for supporting and working to honor the people who serve as law enforcement officers, active duty military personnel, and veterans. She currently works in Studio 202 located in Old Central School in downtown Grand Rapids.
Media gallery
Organization Data
Grand Rapids, MN 55744