What's Happening

April 20, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Engage: The Art of Women, the opening exhibit of the Adrian Dominican Sisters new INAI at Madden Gallery, features the artwork of Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, as well as members of the Adrian Center for the Arts. 

The new gallery was moved to Madden Hall from its original home on the Adrian Dominican Sisters Campus. The original INAI, founded by the late Sisters Barbara Chenicek, OP, and Rita Schiltz, OP, offered exhibits for more than 40 years. The INAI at Madden Gallery has space near Holy Rosary Chapel and is accessible from Weber Retreat and Conference Center on the Motherhouse Campus. 

Three of the featured artists took time to reflect on their lives as artists, art as preaching, and what art and beauty mean to them. Associate Judith Engel, a former Adrian Dominican Sister, has been an artist since she was 2 years old and now focuses on watercolor and some sculpture. Sister Aneesah McNamee, OP, focuses on graphic design for nonprofit organizations, but has also created art through photography, watercolor, and book creation. Sister Janet Wright, OP, has painted and drawn since her childhood and now focuses on watercolor paintings of flowers. 

“My art is an expression of myself,” Sister Aneesah said. “Through my work with my clients, that’s preaching – it’s telling their story through my graphic design, through putting it together and publishing it. It’s telling their story, so that’s preaching. I think all artists are expressing themselves through what they do.”

Judith said that “being an artist means to be open to the creative spirit that God has given to all of us and to do our best to be a channel. It’s a way of communicating with people that sometimes uses words, sometimes music, colors, and shape – all of those avenues that God has given us in terms of communication and expression.”

The Adrian Dominican artists have discovered that their art – and encouraging art in others – can benefit others in significant ways. Sister Aneesah noted that artists are often called to speak out through their art in social justice issues. “I’ve read several articles [encouraging] artists to start speaking out more and more,” she said. 

In the current political climate, Sister Aneesah said, she doesn’t see too much appreciation for the arts, but she doesn’t believe that that attitude will last. “Everybody I know prioritizes the arts,” she said. For her part, she strives to post something artistic, beautiful, and positive on her Facebook and Instagram pages every day. “I think people are really hungry for that,” she said.

As an Associate, Judith has used her art to inspire and benefit people. As a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools retirement and GED programs and as an art teacher to refugees in Toronto, she helped people to use art to express their own perspectives on the challenges of their lives. “I discovered the whole idea of what art could do for people who are in difficult and painful situations – and the gift that it could be to give people a voice,” Judith said.

Sister Janet sees art as “an excellent medium for teaching people how to be people and the appreciation of the planet. It’s transformative. It has power, and it always has: in history, the arts, and the civilization of people.”

At times, Sister Janet said, she had to set her own artwork aside to teach art to children – first in elementary school and, in later years, in high school. As a teacher in the newly-created Gabriel Richard High School in Riverview, Michigan, she helped to grow the school so that, ultimately, she was a full-time art teacher. She taught drawing, painting, and crafts such as macrame. “What I enjoyed most in high school was taking [the students] to the museums and teaching them about art,” she said.

Sister Janet had time to focus on her own artwork during sabbaticals from teaching. Her retirement also affords her the time to work on art – particularly focusing on painting flowers. “I never cease to find fascinating flowers to paint,” she said. “I think they’re dramatic pieces of creation and they’re transformative, too.” 

Judith also sees the need for transformation through beauty and the arts. “Beauty goes way beyond being pretty,” she said. “Beauty is a way of getting to what’s real …. When we can’t find beauty, what we find is a distortion of the reality of our connectedness, our humanity.”

The INAI at Madden Gallery is open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Park at and enter through Weber Retreat and Conference Center on the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse Campus, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive. To visit INAI outside of its regular hours, call 517-266-4000 to make an appointment.
 

Caption for above feature photo: The INAI at Madden Gallery opens with the exhibit, Engage: The Art of Women.
Photo by Sister Suzanne Schreiber, OP

By Li Ma, Director of Development, 
Opportunity Resource Fund

April 20, 2026, Grand Rapids, Michigan – Growing up, Avanti Footman knew the feeling of “home” with a backyard and neighbors as space and security that define happiness. This was before her parents’ divorce, which led to her moving from a house into a two bedroom apartment shared with her mom and two brothers. The shift made the instability feel real, a contrast she still remembers. 

Years later, as a mother herself, Avanti rented responsibly in Grand Rapids, Michigan, paid her rent on time, and cared for each place she lived. Yet twice, landlords reclaimed their homes, giving her just 30 days to move. “It was heartbreaking,” she recalled. “My daughter had lived her first five years there, and we had to leave with almost no warning.” The instability she had promised herself she would never pass on to her children seemed unavoidable.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Avanti relied on a Section 8 voucher to help keep her housing affordable. She continued paying rent even when agencies fell behind in processing payments. But when the system later sent retroactive funds to correct her ledger, confusion with her landlord led to conflict. When she asked for clarification, communication broke down. 

Soon, another 30 day notice arrived. Avanti still remembers standing before the judge, explaining that she wasn’t behind, hadn’t damaged anything, and was only asking for fairness. The judge granted her additional time, but the message was clear: she and her children still had to go.

“I knew then that I couldn’t keep living like that,” she said. “I didn’t want my family to be uprooted just because someone else decided it was time.” The dream of owning a home – something steady, something hers – rose to the surface again.

Yet the path to ownership was not easy. Traditional lenders told her no. Despite years of responsible tenancy and stable income, the doors of conventional mortgage financing remained closed. “The local banks wouldn’t pre approve me,” she said. 

That changed when she was referred to Opportunity Resource Fund. For Avanti, it was the first time a financial institution looked at her with possibility instead of limitation. “They were the only ones who said, ‘We’re going to get to the end,’” she recalled. OppFund staff walked with her through every step, making sure she understood the process and helping her rebuild confidence that homeownership was not only possible, but within reach.

With their support, Avanti purchased a modest, welcoming home in the neighborhood she grew up in. For the first time, she felt rooted. “I no longer have to answer to anyone but the bank,” she said, smiling. “My daughters can go outside and play. They have cousins down the street.” Stability has also allowed her to extend generosity outward: hosting friends who need a place to stay; supporting family; and creating the warm, communal home she longed for as a child.

Later in 2025, another job loss caused her to fall behind on her mortgage. Once again, Opportunity Resource Fund stood beside her. Through its Homeowner Relief Fund, she received assistance to get back on track. “They don’t just help you get into a home,” she said. “They help you stay in a home.”

At Opportunity Resource Fund’s 40 year anniversary gala, Avanti joined to celebrate the impact of this organization that helped her family stay in her home and beloved neighborhood.

Today, Avanti speaks of her home not only as a personal milestone but as a turning point for future generations. “I was able to create generational wealth,” she said. “To break generational curses.”

And to others facing circumstances like hers, she offers simple, steady encouragement: “Don’t give up. Keep going. Use your resources. Trust God.”

With the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board impact investment, Opportunity Resource Fund’s loans are creating meaningful change for communities throughout Michigan.  
 

Caption for above feature photo: Avanti Footman and one of her daughters stand in their new house. Avanti bought the home through the help of the Opportunity Resource Fund.