Yukon artists donate work to support refugees in the Netherlands

A group of Yukon artists is doing its part to help refugees in Europe, not by focussing on material needs, but rather emotional needs.

"We decided to go back to the roots of our social conscience of our group and do something with art therapy," Harreson Tanner, a member of the Yukon Artists at Work (YAAW) collective, told CBC's A New Day.

"We looked at options of raising money and sending clothing and all kinds of different things, and it's all being done already by, certainly, bigger organizations."

25 YAAW members donated original artwork — paintings, sculpture, jewelry — to be auctioned off later this month, in Ottawa. The money will go towards a fledgling program in the Netherlands, that offers art therapy to newly-settled refugees — run by an acquaintance of Tanner's.

"It was a fantastic fit, and obviously meant to be," he said.

The auction is being held in Ottawa because "we needed a larger community," and it will provide exposure to Yukon artists. 

Lillian Loponen, another YAAW member artist, estimates the donated artwork to be worth more than $30,000. 

"The response was phenomenal," she said. "Our social responsibility is part of YAAW's mandate."

Loponen said the Netherlands program, which incorporates music, dance, writing and visual arts, can offer something to refugees struggling to adjust to new circumstances.

"It's a matter of having them able to express emotionally their trauma, and what they've been through."

The auction will be held at the Ottawa School of Art's Byward Market Gallery, on April 24.