LEWISTON — The Center for Wisdom’s Women, a weekday drop-in center for women in downtown Lewiston, is the recipient of a grant from the Carignan Fund at Bates College. The grant of $1925 is for the purpose of bringing the ArtVan to the women’s center monthly, for one year.

The first visit of the ArtVan to the center will be on Wednesday, May 30, at 10 a.m. The ArtVan will visit on the last Wednesday of each month, except July and December.

ArtVan is a free mobile arts therapy program that brings art via a colorful painted van to children, teens and adults who have the least amount of social services, after-school and summer activities available to them. The art making process provides a tangible means to transform ideas, feelings and stories, and is integral in enabling individuals to make sense of the world around them. The goal of the program is to inspire, help deepen relationships, offer new experiences and open minds for new potential, through art programs.

Founded in the Bath/Brunswick by Jamie Silvestri, to work with children, the ArtVan has expanded its presence to adults and to the Portland and Lewiston/Auburn areas.

The ArtVan visited the women’s center in January for a trial. It was enthusiastically received. Klara Tammany, director of the center, said, “The women who participated that day were intently engaged in the work they were doing, and surprised by the outcome. Everyone expressed a desire that the ArtVan come to the center on a regular basis.”

The James W. Carignan ’61 and Sally Larson Carignan ’62 Fund for Community Programs provides grants to not-for-profit organizations and public agencies that serve the communities of Androscoggin County and that work with Bates students in partnership with the college.

The grant includes provision to involve student volunteers from Bates in the ArtVan program, including a final project to be shared with the public. For more information contact The Center for Wisdom’s Women at 513-3922 and visit www.artvanprogram.org.