Founder's Note

Dear Friends,

I firmly believe art heals and transforms lives and therefore, I am very appreciative for this opportunity to share my passion and mission for Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society with you. I am also grateful for the wisdom of friends and colleagues who have agreed to open their hearts and express their unique experiences from following their passion.

I truly believe everything in my life, both challenges and blessings, led me to the birth of my cultural salon in September 2010. Like many artists, the gift that I have been given has grown from a seed of struggle and pain – sudden onset of illness confined me to a wheelchair. Somehow, I learned to survive, and then was blessed to have been supported and nurtured at key junctures in my life through cultural salon, as if one is at the centre of a communications web starting from intimate surroundings to the ability to be part of a wider world. There, we all were encouraged to mix and to talk across social boundaries and this enables community bonding. The mission of Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society was born from these experiences with my cultural salon:

Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society is a nurturing community of the young and young at heart from all walks of life seeking lifelong learning in the sciences and the arts. All talents are nurtured, fostered, promoted, rewarded and celebrated. It is a place with myriad, high quality learning opportunities, formal and informal, with a forward looking and adaptable programs. In addition to helping each other realize our full potential, we will encourage mentoring relationships with each other in the arts and other professions. Self-esteem, confidence, sense of belonging and identity and leadership skills will be cultivated through a community of love, respect and support. My hope for everyone and myself is to develop a lifelong passion for learning and creativity, serving others and bringing us inner beauty to the world.

Very best,

Keiko Honda, Ph.D., MPH

June 6th, 2014