art in a just recovery: the process

Art in a Just Recovery (AIJR) is a local community arts collaboration between Art Not Shame, the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition, and Melanie Schambach that explores community care in the context of our ongoing pandemic recovery in Guelph. Through an eight week online community-engaged arts program, under the visionary leadership of social artist Melanie Schambach, community participants gathered for a series of online workshops to explore these ideas together. A series of in-person and online art-making workshops followed where participants were guided by Art Buddies in creating individual art pieces that came together to create the large-scale mural.

 SOCIAL ARTIST LEAD: Melanie Schambach

Through social art, Melanie Schambach (she/they) invites the public to challenge the narratives of identity, belonging, and social transformation through participatory painting. As an Artivist Melanie acts against injustice and oppression by raising social and environmental awareness through participatory creative expression. Pushing the edges of one's imagination, Melanie's arts practice wants to mirror what evolution is possible.

For more on Melanie's work, visit here.