The Galleries of North Battleford are proud to be hosting Armin Kluge, of Aurora, Ont. Kluge is a 70-year-old activist currently cycling across Canada from Vancouver to Halifax in an effort to raise money for a school he helped build in Cambodia.
Kluge hopes to raise the awareness of the importance of education as the foundation of positive change in the worldand to illustrate how each of us can make a difference in this process.
In 2007, the Agnkor Peak Snang Junior High School was completed. Today it has about 230 students in Grade 7, 8 and 9 and is home to more than 30 boarding students and orphans. Before this school was built these children were offered no other opportunities - today there is hope.
The village where this school is located does not have electricity or running water. Through the generosity and hard work of volunteers a solar generator has been added to the facility allowing for LED lighting and a basic computer lab.
Kluge stands as a testament that one individual possesses the ability to create great change in the world. Through a monthly contribution of $25, Kluge and his family have been able to sponsor five children, his goal in biking across Canada is to raise $1/km, so more children in this recovering country will have the access to a fundamental education that we so often take for granted in North America. The generous spirit of Canada continues to shine through the individuals Kluge encounters on his journey.
"People were always stopping me and asking me questions about who I was, what I was doing and why," Kluge said. "After getting more information, many of the people just pulled out their wallets and said, 'here is my contribution to your cause' and would give me $5 or something like that."
Other people he met provided him with free or discounted accommodation or warm meals. "Things like that happened frequently and every time someone helped me, I took down their name and e-mail address and told them I'd publish what they did on my website," Kluge said. "The generosity of people out there is simply incredible."
The Battlefords are fortunate to host Kluge and now the public is encouraged to stop at the Chapel Gallery Monday, Aug. 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. to support the man who is behind this extraordinary effort.
With so much uncertainty surrounding Kluge's biking schedule, his exact time of arrival is unknown, however, through his website you can spot-track his position. After the Battlefords, he will be heading to Saskatoon and down to Winnipeg. For more information or to contact Kluge directly visit www.helpcambodianschool.org/home.
The day Kluge cycles through marks the kickoff of the North Battleford 4th Biennial Sculpture Symposium. BIG THINGS runs Monday to Saturday and offers the public an opportunity to become involved in three projects, three workshops, a collage and listening party and a day of panel presentations and discussions.
The featured artist is Tyler Brett from Bruno, who will begin working on his sculpture, Stationary Bicycle Shelter Monday at 10:30 a.m., north on Railway Ave, E at the corner of the 19th Tee driving range.
Brett's work forces us to look at the availability of things already made, the re-use of the old, and the shape that it takes. The bicycle becomes symbolic to North America's current dependency on the oil and gas industry, as well as any other energy we derive from sources outside of ourselves.
It is without coincidence Kluge happens to be biking through the city on the very day we begin a public platform that looks deeper into our contemporary culture and begins to ask about its sustainable resources.
