NIAGARA COLLEGE
Niagara College and Willow Arts Community partner on inclusive art project

Inspiring artwork created by Niagara College students and members from the Willow Arts Community will brighten up an on-campus space dedicated to supporting students this spring.

Four large-scale canvases - each created through a diversity and inclusion lens - were revealed on April 22 at an event hosted by NC's Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services (HWAS).

The artwork was commissioned by HWAS with a goal of making its reception area at the Welland Campus more welcoming for students. As a department within the College's Student Services division, and one that focuses on the wholistic student experience, it was important to the HWAS team that students feel comfortable and safe when visiting the office.

"We wanted to display lived experience in Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services, so that when students come in, they feel that this is a place for them. We don't want our space to feel like a clinical setting," said Dr. Karen Csoli, Director of HWAS at NC's Welland Campus.

Enter Willow Arts Community, an award-winning charity that provides free peer to peer arts education and social connections for artists and creatives living with mental illness and substance use in Niagara. Bianca Neufeld, NC Administrative Assistant, Wellness and Accessibility, reached out to Shauna MacLeod, Founder and Executive Director of Willow Arts, and together, they developed a plan to commission four 30 by 40-inch canvases for the College.

Through the project, two NC students, who were chosen out of a pool of applicants, were matched with two artists from Willow Arts, who mentored the students to help bring their concepts to life. The participants were paid for their work and given creative freedom, aside from a few requirements: the artwork had to be colourful and reflective of the HWAS department's and the College's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

"Willow Arts was thrilled to partner with Niagara College to provide meaningful opportunities for artists with lived experience of mental illness and substance use to work with students to create something impactful for those visiting HWAS," said MacLeod, an NC alum (General Arts and Science University Transfer Option program, 2011) who was supported by the HWAS staff during their time at the College. "Bridging together the arts and community wellbeing is a pillar of our mission and we are so proud of the exceptional work that was created to help enhance diversity and inclusion at Niagara College," added MacLeod.

All four artists attended the event to unveil and explain their creations, which will be hung in the Welland HWAS office later this spring.

"Art can say so many things that we can't say - it's a visual representation of mood, feeling, values," said Dr. Chris McGrath, NC's Vice President, Students. "This inspiring collection will help students feel a sense of community and belonging when coming into Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services for care. Thank you to Willow Arts Community and to the talented participants who worked on this special project."

Pictured from left: Dr. Karen Csoli, NC Director, HWAS, Welland Campus; Shauna MacLeod, Founder and Executive Director, Willow Arts Community; NC students Kiran Purohit and Yenis Camargo; Willow Arts Community artists Psi M'igyver and Kim Height; Bianca Neufeld, Administrative Assistant, HWAS; and Dr. Chris McGrath, NC Vice President, Students.

Meet the artists

Kiran Purohit, originally from India and a student from NC's Palliative Care graduate certificate program, created a piece drawing on his experience working as a registered nurse in his home country. His canvas portrays the balance between a person's physical, mental, social and spiritual health.

"It's important to spend some time with yourself in your busy schedule," Purohit said when explaining his artwork at the event.

Yenis Camargo, a student from NC's General Arts and Science - Enhanced Language Training for Employment certificate program and a native of Columbia, painted "Together" - a visual representation of an inclusive society that embraces everyone.

"The path is painted with a palette of colours that reflects diversity, intertwining without barriers or limits," said Camargo. "Yellow butterflies and the warm sign saying Bienvenidos!' (Welcome) provide identity to Colombian culture, while the clasped hands symbolize the multiculturalism of Canada, emphasizing unity and solidarity among those who are part of this global community."

Camargo has a background in Social Psychology and is a self-taught artist. She has been involved in other community art initiatives in the Niagara region, including the Art on Welland Bell Boxes project, and runs painting workshops at her home studio in Port Colborne.

Psi M'igyver from Willow Arts Community created a whimsical painting of a flowerpot. The artwork was inspired by M'igyver's conversations with former NC students and alumni, who shared that the College is a special place.

"I wanted to show how Niagara College cradles its students and how it provides them with an environment to succeed; that anyone who lands in the soil has what they need," said M'igyver.

Kim Height from Willow Arts Community drew on her Indigenous ancestry to create a colourful canvas she called "United." Height incorporated animals with Indigenous significance including a bear, wolf, whale, turtle and thunderbird and describes her artwork as, "Uniting culture and diverse populations in an Indigenous world." View additional artwork from Height on her Facebook page.