The Art of Hope

• April 28th, 2009

The Art of Hope

Over twenty-five years ago the Ghent Arts Show, conceived by and benefiting the Norfolk Free Clinic was the premier outdoor show of our area. The funds raised from this event were a significant part of the budget the clinic used to provide medical treatment for those who could not afford it. The show was not only popular but served as a spring celebration for the Ghent community. Held each Mother’s Day weekend I can recall always being torn about traveling out of town to see my Mom versus staying in the neighborhood and going to the art show. More times than not I split my time between the two. In those days the Ghent community was quite different than it is today and much of the renovation and building of more upscale housing was still very far out on the horizon. The Ghent Arts Show truly reflected the community and the Free Clinic operated just around the corner. The artists, musicians, visitors as well as the neighborhood embraced the show and as I recall understood the importance of the event to sustainability of the Norfolk Free Clinic.

Around 1983 there was a huge buzz around the city about the opening of Waterside and the newly formed park that would lie adjacent to this “festival marketplace”, everyone was excited. The vision for the park area included art shows, music events and so much more. Harbourfest would take on an entirely different feel and we the citizens of this city would have a place to call our own. Around this time the Free Clinic was going through its own changes and would within the year relinquish the show to another local not for profit. So, when the City approached them about moving the show to Town Point Park where they would have a larger space with a beautiful view of the Elizabeth River they said yes! The organizers of the show saw the potential to attract many more visitors and to increase their fund raising as alcohol sales would be allowed, something that never seemed to fit within the serene and intimate surroundings of Stockley Gardens.

The decision was made to move the Ghent Arts Show to Waterside, it would still be on Mother’s Day weekend and still carry the same name, the only thing left to do was inform the artists of their new and improved location. I guess no one really thought there might be differing opinions among the artists and the community members of Ghent but of course there were.

A small band of artists and community members began an informal effort to block the show from moving to Waterside. They held meetings, created buttons that bore the slogan “Keep it in Ghent” and sought press coverage of their opposition to the plan. At one of their first meetings a staff member of Hope House Foundation was present and the seeds for starting another outdoor festival were planted. The idea presented to Hope House Foundation was that we would create the alternative show, keep it in Stockley Gardens, hold it the weekend after Mothers Day and most importantly maintain the neighborly culture of the event. The first Stockley Gardens Arts Festival was held in May of 1984. We had about 30 artists, a few bands and loads of optimism. We didn’t make much money, but we did make a statement. Our entire mission was about inclusion and this action represented all of what it meant to us.

It seemed then as it does now that we did the right thing. We were responding to our community not only because this type of event was valued but also we at Hope House were not separate, this community included us. At one time we operated three out of our four group homes in Ghent. We found the neighborhood to be welcoming and open to people with disabilities, and even now after closing all of our group homes and supporting people in living in their own apartments we still find this to be a place that embraces diversity.

The success of the Spring show took a few years and led to the creation of the Fall Stockley Gardens Arts Festival and again this decision was made though collaboration with the artists who explained to us that the outdoor artist circuit would be coming to a close mid October and they knew of no better place to end it than where they began, in Ghent and in this park.

How fitting that a small group of people wanted their opinions and voices heard and that it was us, at Hope House that listened. It’s the most important aspect of the work we do with people we support, the art of listening. Listening for the subtle messages that may be expressed in a quick expression or movement to the large pronouncements of dreams and ambitions. It’s fairly easy to “hear” someone, but to understand a person only listening really works which requires the opening of one’s heart to another.

The Ghent Arts Festival is long gone yet Stockley Gardens Arts Festival continues to hold a vibrant place in the heart of Ghent. One of the ongoing jokes we hear is that no one really knows who puts on the festival or why, well now you do.

Please join our organization as we celebrate this 25th year anniversary of an arts festival that believed in itself and knew it belonged in its own neighborhood, and with the help of friends, patrons and supporters such as you this was achieved beyond anything that was imagined a quarter of a century ago.

The process may be a little different for people with disabilities to have the same kind of achievement but maybe the ingredients are exactly the same.