 If you’ve had the opportunity to walk the halls of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) recently, you would have been greeted with a particularly bold message painted on the walls. The words “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” placed strategically on an ocean-scape being polluted. The message is clear and powerful – we must do what we can to save the environment.
The flags of our region border the mural, signifying that all of us need to have a hand in the hard work that has to go into saving our region from pollution and the effects of climate change. But how did this mural get here? Was it a random artistic whim, or a project done by campus management?
Neither, actually. This mural was the collective work of The UWI Biological Society’s former Project Manager (now President) Felicia Collins, and students from the Department of Creative and Festival Art’s (DCFA) Visual Arts’ Certificate course. The DCFA students are Nemai Ali and Saniyah Bedeshi (under the guidance of Visual Arts lecturer Adiel Mahajan).
Collins knew the message she wanted to send to the campus and sought the expertise of the DCFA to make it come to life. She wanted to use the power of art to start a conversation around the key issues of pollution and climate change and how it affects the environment: “artivism” in its truest sense. The mural that now graces the wall at FST has done just that—started a conversation.
This conversation around art and its many dimensions is being championed by Dr Marsha Pearce, Lecturer and Visual Arts Unit Coordinator at the DCFA. Dr Pearce has held this post for the past two years and within that time has seen it as one of her mandates to continuously make it known that art does not just beautify or decorate but has many facets that can be utilised by all.
In fact, in early 2019, the DCFA got a chance to showcase their skill when the North West Regional Health Authority reached out to have some artwork done on the walls of their newly constructed Children’s Treatment and Assessment Unit at the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital. When Dr Pearce heard about what the hospital needed, she could not say no and tasked one of her students, Kadeem Aguillera to gather other students in the Visual Arts Degree programme to get the project underway.
Kadeem did not have a problem gathering a group of students to volunteer their time and skill to this project. They included Jordon Briggs, Sabrina Acham, Jonathan Francis, Nicolin Harris, Joshua Morales, Ashley Sylvester, Jessica Resall and Kirsten Rampersad. Each of them saw the project as an opportunity to have a totally different experience from their regular art jobs.
“As young artists, most of our artistic practice is individual work,” says Nicolin. “An opportunity to team up and brainstorm was a welcome challenge and an opportunity to learn from my peers. In addition, a chance to contribute to the betterment of an institution that deals with mental health could not be ignored.”
During the month of June the students undertook the task of painting three murals to cover the dining room, activity room and timeout room at the Assessment Unit. This did not come easily however, as Kadeem noted, they had to do their “homework” to make sure the theme, colours and objects they represented on the walls were not triggering or made anyone uncomfortable. For them, this was not just a job, it was an opportunity to work on something artistic and ensure that the children received something beautiful.
The students knew that what went on the wall needed to be done with care. After completion, everyone who was a part of the project was extremely proud of their work – even though their critical artistic eyes saw where they could have done better — and their work was met with love, praise and admiration. This recognition was all the pay they needed.
The hospital staff was impressed by not only the skill of the students, but by their commitment to the entire project. In fact, the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital’s Administrator, Gillian Baptiste, praised the students work, saying, “The NWRHA’s goal was to create an environment unlike that of a traditional ward setting, and the management’s goal was communicated to the students and expressed in the excellent murals portrayed.”
The intent of both of these mural projects was achieved: a move to shift the way art is seen and understood, and to make a connection between how we can all use art in creative ways to serve a positive purpose.
Omega Francis is a writer, editor and blogger based in Trinidad and Tobago.
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