#COVIDArtQC: Unveiling of seven science-inspired public artworks across Quebec
Up Close or Nearby was documented by the talented Patrycja Maksalon. View Emily in action here and the project archives here.
“The pandemic is taking a lasting hold in the lives of Quebeckers and leads us to question ourselves. #CovidArtQC has enabled scientists, artists, municipalities and local populations to dialogue and give meaning to what we are experiencing and to make the most of it.” Rémi Quirion, Chief Scientist of Quebec
Seven of the nine public artworks inspired by scientific knowledge about COVID-19 have been unveiled in recent weeks across Quebec. At the initiative of Quebec’s Chief Scientist, artists, municipalities and scientists have joined forces to create works that will mark the urban landscape for many years to come, reflecting this historical period Quebeckers are living through.
In the form of murals, window dressing, giant books, floor markings or sculptures, the works created with the support of the Fonds de recherche du Québec deal with different aspects of the pandemic: social distancing, changes in lifestyle habits, loss of smell, mental health of young people, etc. Seven works have already been finalized: L’envol (Causapscal), Près ou proche (Outaouais), Poisson-lune (La Malbaie), Nouvelle direction (Lac-Mégantic), Dialogue des confinés (Nicolet), Empreintes (Saint-Raymond), Le journal d’un confiné (Saint-Sauveur). The two works produced in Montreal remain in production: Graphic/Graphique (MU) et Le Glitch (Mural).
Artistic statement
“Up Close or Nearby” is an arts-based, trans-disciplinary and participatory research project in Western Quebec that uses artistic and social practice to invite members of the public to reflect on the effects of Covid on their lives and to report on the collective findings of this individual reflection. The project is being carried out in two phases.
Phase One – the murals ask questions about our experience: Two public murals will be created by artists Iris Kiewiet and Emily Rose Michaud at The Spring in Wakefield and at Sainte-Cécile de Masham’s Elementary School. These murals will provoke reflection on a series of questions to which the public is invited to respond. Two science and health professionals – a data scientist and a health advisor on COVID – will develop the questions in collaboration with PAF’s social impact artist. A QR code displayed on the murals will direct the public to a web platform with the questions and solicit answers.
Phase Two – the murals illuminate our hopes and fears: The Data Scientist (Patrick Boily, University of Ottawa), the Covid Health Advisor (Leanne Olsen, Red Cross) and the Social Impact Artist will analyze the audience’s responses to create quantitative data sets and conduct qualitative analysis. This process will inspire a second series of murals that will reflect public participation. These murals will be created by Patrick Thompson, Gavin Lynch and Jimmy Baptiste in Chelsea and at the Perkins Community Centre in Val-des-Monts. The QR code used in Phase One will then provide access to the analysis of the data and the presentation of the public’s responses by the social impact artist.
Up Close or Nearby was documented by the talented Patrycja Maksalon. View Emily in action here and the project archives here.
Image credits: Photos by Patrycja Maksalon Photography; Drawing/Painting by Emily Rose Michaud.