The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is pleased to announce the launch of a youth-focused art initiative, Emerging Artists Unmasked, which explores and reflects on how this safety protocol has transformed Canadian culture and personal styles rendering mask wearing as a form of self-expression that articulates personal stories, cultural identities, and which unites us in the wake of the global health crisis.

This project is a collaboration between contemporary Canadian artist Don Kwan, currently featured in the Gallery’s exhibition Facing It, and Anne MacLaughlin's  senior art students at John Diefenbaker Secondary School in Hanover.  Through a series of virtual sessions which included an artist talk and a global pandemic face mask workshop led by Kwan, students were invited to create their own face masks for display at the Gallery.

Emerging Artists Unmasked presents over 20 compelling individual face mask creations that employ non-traditional materials, inspired by Don Kwan’s artwork as well the students’ lived experiences within the COVID-19 pandemic. The project highlights our common desire for individual identity, while also alluding to the fact that we are all in this together.

Emerging Artists Unmasked will be on display in the Tom Thomson Art Gallery’s Atrium from December 9, 2021 – January 31, 2022. We invite the public to view these inspirational responses from youth and to also contribute to this larger discussion by sharing personal experiences with the Gallery. The public can participate virtually in Don’s global pandemic mask workshop by visiting our Digital Art Portal. You can share your designs with the Gallery online with the hashtag #globalpandemicmask.

source: media release, TTAG