To some, a steel gate might be an unpleasant site and provoke a feeling of being locked out. But with added colour, it can become inviting and represent openness.
Officials say that was the motivation behind the recent decorating of the gate that opens to the garden beside North Hastings Community Trust’s building.
The project was one of several community art installations that were made at a recent Community Corridor of Inclusion and Resilience event at the Trust.
A series of workshops in North Hastings have taken place over the past couple years, under the Community Corridor banner. Marlena Zuber, the Corridor’s artistic lead, says the events are allowing people to use art as a form of healing and to express what concerns them.
“Art is a way that we can express ourselves, whether it’s through poetry, whether it’s through painting,” she says. “It also gives us confidence and empowers us once we create it.”
“When we see it in front of us, we realize more about ourselves, we realize more about our communities. There’s something very transformative about it, especially when it’s done collectively.”
The Community Corridor of Inclusion and Resilience was made possible by an Ontario Arts Council grant. The events it’s staging this year represent Phase 2 of its mission, which is to create art with a theme around Remembering and Resistance.
The community arts installations will remain on display at the Trust. Visitors can check them during regular hours.
