3 minute read

Using art for wellness, restoration, and self-expression

from The Ontarion - 190.4

by The Ontarion

from The Ontarion - 190.4, page 21

Opinion: U of G needs to work ...

Five interactive workshops were offered to BIPOC students at the U of G to engage them in the arts and promote self-expression

ELENI KOPSAFTIS

This past November, the Cultural Diversity Office (CDO) hosted a series of online artistic workshops for BIPOC students that promoted identity exploration. After a resounding success, hosts new and old were welcomed back to the virtual format to run the Art and Soul series.

The CDO hosted five workshops from March 8 to 29. Activities ranged from music-making, dancing, egg painting, typography, and a paint night.

The series was born out of student frustration with online learning and the lack of campus life during the pandemic. CDO coordinator Alexis Charles told The Ontarion that for BIPOC students, these challenges have been heightened by high-profile incidents of police brutality and anti-Black racism over the past year.

The pandemic and these incidents have “reinforced the urgency in creating spaces for wellness and restoration as we continue to dismantle inequities within our communities and beyond,” said Charles.

In a dance-based workshop on March 16, Siyobin Blanco guided participants through an exploration of natural movements and movement-based creativity.

As a multi-disciplinary dancer and activist for racial justice, Blanco wanted her workshop to help others “connect to their inner self through expressive and intuitive movement.”

Blanco explained that “intuitive movement is about getting curious, learning to be present in the moment, embracing yourself exactly as you are, and improving your inner attunement,” she told The Ontarion. “Intuitive movement requires no experience and it's important to me that my classes are accessible and welcoming for all folks.”

Having danced since she could walk, Blanco emphasizes that dance has been part of her life, self-expression, healing, and growth.

“Performing dance provides an opportunity to evoke emotion, share experiences, outlooks and even political views,” she said.

Nicole Alexander is a visual artist who hosted one of the November Art and Soul series workshops. She returned on March 23 to host a paint night.

Alexander grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, and has been painting and doodling since she was young. Despite having won local art competitions, she decided to study science and pursue the arts as a hobby.

“When we were placed in lockdown about a year ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were many people who suffered from losing the ability to be out and about and having to stay indoors for an indefinite period of time,” Alexander told The Ontarion.

“As a teacher, I thought about children and how they might have been trying to manage the news of them not returning to school. I decided to offer free paint sessions for kids and families on my Facebook platform, ‘Art and Soul with Nicole.’”

The results were a success. Alexander said that families, parents, and children were eager to “escape with a paintbrush and canvas to places where only their imagination would be their limitation.”

The March workshop she led involved acrylic painting using paint brushes and red, blue, and yellow paint. While she tries to guide participants, Alexander allows each artist to express themselves through the colours and brushstroke direction of their choice. “Art can help to heal, and it is for this reason that I am surely willing to continue to share my passion of painting with anyone who needs it in an effort to help them to manage and cope with the stresses or just to help with managing everyday living,” said Alexander.

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Siyobin Blanco is a queer BIPOC with a non-apparent disability and is a well-respected activist in Guelph, Ontario. She participated in the U of G's Art and Soul series by leading a dance-based workshop on March 16. CREDIT: DEVON GOSS

Blanco and Alexander’s work and contact information can be found on their respective websites. Blanco runs Invoketress Dance at invoketress.com with her mother Ishra, while Alexander sells her art pieces at nicolealexanderart.com.

Intuitive movement is about getting curious, learning to be present in the moment, embracing yourself exactly as you are, and improving your inner attunement. — Siyobin Blanco