The Making of Art in Hard Times

There was an audible gasp heard through all our headphones...

Seeing the final digital mural unveiled - a spectacular, detailed visual summary of stories and creativity suddenly made tangible for us - we understood how this final piece was not just a gorgeous image, but an expression of the beautiful community and camaraderie that had been building through shared art-making for eight weeks. Despite distance, Zoom overwhelm, and other barriers to connection, in this moment there was a felt sense of togetherness and possibility for over 70 people.

What led to this moment of awe and affirmation? A lot of adaptation, letting go of plans, and a lot of saying yes in times of uncertainty and loss.

Let us take a step back to where this began.

In witnessing many intersecting crises in the spring of 2020, including increased isolation as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, overdose numbers rising in Guelph, and calls to rise up against white supremacy and anti-Black racism both in our community and around the world, we felt the deep need to engage in creativity, in community.

As artists do, a response was imagined by our friend and collaborator, Melanie Schambach, who was experimenting with the creation of participatory digital murals. We asked Melanie, with her vast skills in facilitation and collective art-making, if she’d work with Art Not Shame to co-deliver a program that would culminate in the creation of a community mural, and from there, The Mural Project: Art In Hard Times, began.

Melanie was spending lockdown with family in Guatemala when she conceived of a way to engage people across distance and voice issues of local and global relevance during this time through the power of visual art. Our goal was to amplify the voices of Guelphites who identify as Black, LGBTQ2I+, Indigenous, People of Colour, newcomers, street-engaged, living with developmental exceptionalities, or struggling with mental health and addictions. 

The project launched on June 13, 2020 and ran for eight weeks with over 65 participants, 13 community partners, 10 art buddies, 5 knowledge holders, 3 exchangers and 1 witness. To say it was a community-effort would be an understatement.

We started with a question. What do these ‘Hard Times’ mean to us? Through various exercises including creative writing and the use of metaphor, the participants identified themes for the mural. Racial inequality, homophobia, mental health stigma, police brutality, disability advocacy, gender equality, culture, social action, love, faith and empathy were the common themes. Using all the gathered information, Melanie designed and presented a sketch that was broken up into one massive “paint-by-numbers”. You can check out the whole process here.

It was no small feat on the part of Emily, our wonderful doer-of-all-things and administrative assistant at Art Not Shame, to print, cut and arrange these colour coded pieces! Participants chose what section they wanted to work on and filled their section with their own stories, staying within a particular colour palette and working with an Art Buddy of their choice. In working with the Art Buddies, and through weekly check ins with Melanie, participants created their artistic contribution.

Each complete puzzle piece was photographed and sent to Melanie who assembled the entire image (digitally!). The end product is a beautiful digital mural that contains the stories of all participants.

The project’s Witness was local musician Joni NehRita who supportively observed the entire process and created powerful musical soundscapes, songs and music videos based on what she observed and experienced.

We hosted a big Reveal Party via Zoom on September 24 for all those involved and their friends and family. We opened with drumming and prayer by local Cree artist and musician Peter Howlett, followed by interviews with participants, and breakout rooms to discuss community building and creativity. It was a wonderful unveiling of a beautiful project.

The feedback was heart lifting. We learned that the project fostered a sense of togetherness and “brought a sense of community and a constant during uncertain times.” It allowed people to express feelings, even the hard ones, and have those feelings and expressions held by a caring and supportive group. We learned with and from each other, across difference.

This pandemic experiment has unfolded in such generous and affirming ways. We are actively integrating all the lessons and insights into our programs for 2021 and feel entirely grateful for all the soul-work that made this possible. Many thanks also to the long list of donors and funders who support our belief that art gives so much, and is fundamental to the well-being of individuals and communities.