color pencil, sharpie; 16×20″
“Globally, there are 140 million children without one parent – with 15.1 million having no parents at all. 1-3% of those kids end up getting adopted – you’d think with these impossible odds, a factor like gender, wouldn’t play a role in adoption. A study showed that same sex couples still receive discrimination from child welfare workers, just because of their sexual orientation. Because of this bias, children often get placed in homes that are abusive and/or have bad environments. My piece is supposed to convey that if a child has a parent or two – said parents’ sexual orientation shouldn’t matter. It shows multiple families and multiple lifestyles, all functioning families, which is what orphans need. Orphans need time to recollect themselves and create a new home and family. The only love children ever need to worry about, is the love their parents give to them.”
ARTIST BIO: Abbigayle MANNING is a grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.