Photographs of Colorado kids awaiting adoption on display at CMC Gallery
By Kristin Carlson
As Mother’s Day approaches, a new photo exhibit will present images of children who are seeking to find parents.
May 4 through 27, the photographs of 50 Colorado children waiting for adoption will be on display at the Colorado Mountain College Gallery in downtown Glenwood Springs as part of the Heart Gallery of America project.
This exhibit is the brainchild of adoptive mom Cathy Maier Callahan and adoption specialist Diane Granito. Heart Gallery of America exhibits the photos of children considered hard to place , possibly because they have siblings, or because they’re “too old.” This exhibit travels all around the country.
A picture speaks a thousand words
In 2001, Diane Granito, who worked for New Mexico’s Adoption and Family Services, had an idea, sparked by mom and photographer Cathy Maier Callahan: Every child “in the system” deserved a professional photograph, a portrait.
Photographers volunteered their time and expertise, and the resulting images were so striking that Granito felt compelled to share them. While walking past a row of galleries in Santa Fe, it struck her. Portraits as beautiful and unique as the children who had posed for them needed to be seen. She approached a local gallery owner, and the Heart Gallery was born.
During the first half-hour of the first exhibit, three sisters were adopted, and the project has only gained momentum since. A 2005 article by Rosemary Zibart (herself an adoptive mom) in Parade magazine sparked nationwide interest, and galleries began clamoring to participate. In the ensuing years, 100 Heart Galleries have opened in 48 states, and more than a thousand children have found permanent homes.
From vision to action
The goal of each Heart Gallery exhibit is to raise awareness of foster care and adoption issues in America, and to help prospective families see the kids up for adoption in their geographic areas — kids who might otherwise be invisible.
“All children in this exhibit are available for adoption,” said Natalie Carrion, adoption worker with the Garfield County Department of Human Services. “There are a lot of kids in foster care in Colorado through no fault of their own. Through the amazing relationships that foster and adoptive parents can build, they can change a child’s life forever for the better.”
Carrion said that many people have the misconception that adoption is prohibitively expensive. “Through foster care, that’s not true,” she said. “A caseworker can walk you through the certification process, and you’ll get the training you need.”
Garfield County has a “foster to adopt” program, in which families are required to be a licensed foster home for one year prior to adopting. The Garfield County foster care program’s motto is “Love a child, Foster a family,” Carrion said. Families who want to learn more about the process of fostering and adoption can contact her at 945-9191, ext. 3006.
The downtown Glenwood exhibit, a joint project of the Garfield Department of Human Services, Heart Gallery Colorado and the CMC Gallery, is on display May 4-27. A public opening reception will be held May 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. Located at 831 Grand Avenue, the CMC Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, please call 947-8367.
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