Forest of Families at Museum til Oct 5

100’s of Broward Families Celebrated
with “Family Totem Poles”

 …at the Museum of Art │Fort Lauderdale…
…Free Viewing in Lobby, September 20 – October 5, 2013…

…Forest of Families exhibit designed to raise awareness about the need for foster parents…
…Created by artist Eduardo Gardin…

Museum of Art Installation by Eduardo Gardin

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WHAT:     A public display of 375 personalized totem poles made by families at community events in Broward County since April, 2013. Entitled Forest of Families, the project was designed to bring Broward County residents together to express their idea of family through art and inspire families to consider expanding their definition of family to include children in the foster care system.

WHERE:     Nova Southeastern University’s Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale
1 East Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

WHO:   In an artistic partnership, ChildNet, the community-based care lead agency in Broward and Palm Beach County, Museum of Art │Fort Lauderdale, Community Foundation of Broward and artist Eduardo Gardin.

Forest of Families Totems

Finding, engaging, licensing and retaining quality foster homes is not an easy task. ChildNet’s Art of Community project entitled Forest of Families will help raise community awareness about the need for more loving, caring foster parents while exploring the concept of families with an interactive visual arts project. Through the partnership, ChildNet, the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Forever Family and artist Eduardo Gardin hope to inspire individuals and families to tell their unique story through painted totem poles. Forest of Families will be exhibited around the county to inspire those who view it to consider fostering and help change the lives of our community’s most vulnerable children.

The concept of using art to engage the community and impact an issue like foster home recruitment was motivated by the Community Foundation of Broward’s Art of Community Initiative. The Initiative supports bold and unique projects that increase the sense of community of Broward residents while addressing issues of public concern. In a community as diverse as Broward, the Foundation’s goal is to use art as a bridge between diverse and unconnected groups to build understanding and stronger societal bonds. The Community Foundation of Broward awarded ChildNet a $15,000 grant to create a “Forest of Families.” 

Bring to Museum for “Pay as You Wish” admission to October 5

ABOUT CHILDNET

ChildNet has been chosen by the Florida Department of Children & Families to serve as the Community Based Care (CBC) lead agency in both Broward and Palm Beach counties. As such, it is the single private non-profit entity responsible for administration of the local child welfare systems in each county. It fulfills this responsibility by managing comprehensive networks of child welfare services providers and, in Broward, by also serving as the single centralized child welfare case management provider. The agency’s mission is to protect abused, abandoned and neglected children in the communities it serves. Fulfillment of this mission requires constant input and support from community stakeholders and service providers. For more information about ChildNet, call 954-414-6001. Visit www.ChildNet.us and www.facebook.com/ChildNet.

ABOUT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF BROWARD

Founded in 1984, the Community Foundation of Broward’s mission is to provide leadership on community solutions, and foster philanthropy that connects people who care with causes that matter. A public nonprofit organization with more than 450 charitable Funds and agency endowments representing $160 million, it has distributed $60 million to support community solutions over the past 30 years. As a community leader, it convenes citizens around critical issues, and builds the capacity of the nonprofit sector to respond to these issues. For more information about the Community Foundation of Broward, visit cfbroward.org or call 954.761.9503.  Regardin Art of Community, visit www.artofcommunity.wordpress.com.

ABOUT NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY’S MUSEUM OF ART FORT LAUDERDALE 

Since its founding in 1958, Nova Southeastern University’s Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale, has served our growing community as a gathering place for friends and neighbors, a lifelong learning center for children and adults, and as a dynamic hub for the cultural life of Broward County. Housed since 1986 in a distinguished modernist building designed by Edward Larabee Barnes, the museum is South Florida’s premier destination for quality exhibitions and programs that encompass every facet of civilization’s visual history. In 2008, the museum became part of Nova Southeastern University, the ninth-largest not-for-profit independent institution in the nation. Nova Southeastern University’s Museum of Art is located at One East Las Olas Boulevard at Andrews Avenue. For additional information visit: www.moafl.org.