Claire Rivard, an ECYD member and a junior at Pinecrest Academy in Cumming, Georgia, won 3rd place for her entry in the USCCB Creating on the Margins National Art Competition.
Claire is a member of the St. John Paul II Chapter of the National Honor Society, incoming president of the Pinecrest National Art Honor Society, a varsity fencer who has competed in the US Junior Olympics, and an ECYD member who spent last summer serving as a missionary in the Houston area with ECYD Mission Corps.
She will graduate from Pinecrest Academy in 2019, and aspires to study Biochemistry in university, while also keeping her heart and future plans open to a possible vocation to the religious life.
The theme of the 2018 USCCB competition was “Share the Journey of Young Migrants and Refugees.” This competition engages students in learning about poverty in the U.S., its causes, and faith-inspired efforts to address it.
The Creating on the Margins competition is a tool to engage young people in the Gospel call of Luke 4:18 to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. Through their participation, students in grades 7-12 explore American problems of poverty or related issues such as migration, and the response of the Church.
The entries are evaluated on two components: the creativity of the work, and the essay answers submitted with the work to demonstrate proper understanding of how we are called to respond as disciples of Jesus when people are living in poverty in our communities.
The 2018 theme, “Share the Journey of Young Migrants and Refugees,” was selected to coincide with Pope Francis’ launch in September 2017 of a two year, world-wide campaign in support of migrants and refugees.
For Claire, love of God and love of the poor have always been connected. Her family has a long standing tradition of going out to meet and serve the homeless, and as an ECYD Mission Corps missionary last summer, her favorite apostolic work was going to the Catholic Charities immigrant center to care for the people who had just arrived in the border town of Brownsville Texas. She states that her faith pushes her from inside to go and serve the poor, and that making them smile in spite of their situations brings her deep joy.
Claire’s work was honored by Kat Doyle, Director of the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Justice & Peace Ministries in the Office of Life, Dignity & Justice, on Tuesday, April 24th. Her art will be displayed in the office of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Claire credits her art teacher, Mrs. Alison Stone, as an example of an artist with a passion for evangelization and serving the Church who helps her to share her talents in the same way.
Title of work: The Effects of Faith and Community on the Lonely and Migrants
Artist Statement:
My tryptic mixed media artwork shows the process of young refugees being welcomed into the local Christian community. Through the power of God’s love, this process is transformative.
The imagery provides a view into how providing emotional love, food for one’s physical needs, and spiritual nourishment can transform a life and a family.
The first image illustrates the loneliness of a refugee family due to the isolation they experienced after the exodus from their homeland.
The second image depicts a young migrant who has encountered a loving member of the Catholic community. This child has been supported and nurtured with with faith, hope and love, as well as being ministered to in her physical needs.
The final image is of the grand opening of a Catholic community center where the refugees’ family, other migrant families and local families build a thriving community together.
Our faith calls us to do this work of social justice because as Catholics we believe that every person is created in the image and likeness of God. And in believing that, we are called to acknowledge the humanity, needs, and goodness in other people by serving them, being there for them, and loving them through actions and words. All people deserve to receive love that respects their dignity and allows them to thrive.
