Social Arts
‘Connected In Chaos,' 2020. Mixed media ensembled digitally, printed on dibond. 13 panels, 48in. X96 in. Richmond St. Underpass at King Street, London ON.
Over 160 participants reflected about London during the global pandemic through the collaborative creation of thirteen digital murals in the summer of 2020. Participants, who share a caring connection to this community, either contributed with storytelling, treating the wall, painting the underpass, or making art for the murals. ‘Truth to Power,’ ‘We Are Nature,’ and ‘This Land We Are On,’ are some of the topics the process surfaced and unwrapped.
In a thirteen week process, participants were invited to engage in activities such as online meet ups, readings, videos, group exercises, and storytelling in many forms to explore their own stories of origin, belonging, and their place in the community. The process surfaced relevant themes, through various art mediums.
From abstract paint, to photography, performance or watercolours, participants were assigned to create sections of each mural panel. After the online program was completed, participants were invited in person to treat and paint the wall.
Connected in Chaos is a legacy of community resilience in times of hardship. Now more than ever, we need creative collaborations that revitalize and strengthen our sense of belonging to this city. It is especially important that we take a breath and pause to celebrate the inherent beauty of our diversity. This project seeks to offer a collective commitment to process together the difficult times we are living in locally and globally. Let's stay Connected in Chaos.
Click HERE to visit the virtual home of this project.
Lead Artists/Facilitators: Alejandro Zuluaga and Melanie Schambach.