Media Release
The “North Van City Mosaic: Bringing Our Community Together in Response to COVID-19”
Announcing a local public art project for the community to create a digital mosaic about COVID19 experiences.
North Vancouver, BC (October 26, 2020) — North Van Arts is proud to launch the community public art project, North Van City Mosaic: Bringing Our Community Together in Response to COVID-19 (North Van City Mosaic). If you live, work, or play in the City of North Vancouver, you are invited to create and share an image of your COVID-19 story. Professional artists will then work with the community’s images to create an online digital mosaic and physical artworks, programmed in two phases, providing a legacy to remind us all how we are connected during this challenging time.
Phase I of the project, launched in September 2020, has local visual artist Sandrine Pelissier and expressive art therapist Sophie Babeanu employ their original online mosaic concept, developed with the technical help of Relevant Software, to build a collaborative digital mosaic. Members of the public can participate by submitting an image of a drawing, painting, or photograph, along with an optional description, that represents their experience living in the time of COVID-19.
“Whether it was important changes or minimal ones, everyone has felt some effect of the pandemic. Every story counts and has ripple effects on the whole community, the same way every picture shared on the mosaic has an effect on the whole picture”, says Sandrine Pelissier, North Van City Mosaic artist.
The North Van City Mosaic creates a platform to share a ‘common’ thought, invite memory sharing, and experience multi-generational interactions, allowing for a wide audience to participate safely during social distancing. The initiative was developed by leadership representatives from Family Services, North Shore Neighbourhood House, North Van Arts, North Vancouver School District and United Way, under the umbrella of the Mayor’s Healthiest Small City Social Resiliency Collective. The project was one of the Collective’s five quick-starts developed to advance the City of North Vancouver’s social resiliency and connectivity social during and beyond the ongoing COVID-19 response and recovery.
“By sharing personal stories, we can inspire each other, and create a more welcoming and supportive community,” says Linda Buchanan, Mayor of the City of North Vancouver. “This mosaic will allow us to reflect back and consider how this pandemic has impacted us as individuals, as well as collectively. As we work towards building a more vibrant and inclusive community, it’s important we use this moment to propel us forward.”
In Phase II, the images collected through the online digital mosaic will be used to create other community public art pieces for people to gather and commemorate this extraordinary period. Participants of Phase I of the North Van City Mosaic will be notified of upcoming announcements for Phase II.
North Van City Mosaic artist and expressive art therapist, Sophie Babeanu encourages community members of all ages to participate, “We love all kinds of artwork, so no need to worry about skill or ability, this project is about self-expression and telling a story.”
Deadline for participation is slated for the end of March, 2021.
For more information, including guidelines, please visit northvancitymosaic.ca
Project Funders:
“Whether it was important changes or minimal ones, everyone has felt some effect of the pandemic. Every story counts and has ripple effects on the whole community, the same way every picture shared on the mosaic has an effect on the whole picture”, says Sandrine Pelissier, North Van City Mosaic artist.
Media Contact:
Samantha Newton (she/her/hers)
Events and Community Development Manager North Van Arts
samantha@northvanarts.ca, 604-988-6844
Click here to download a PDF of the Mayor Healthiest Small City Social Resiliency Collective