Winnipeggers wanted for national art project
Want to be part of a national art project? An artist who is travelling across Canada for his latest project is in Winnipeg and he wants you to help him out.
Montreal-based Aquil Virani is gathering stories and drawings for his "Canada's Self Portrait" project.
"We get people to fill out a handout we've prepared," he told guest host Ismaila Alfa on CBC Manitoba's Information Radio.
"It says describe Canada in one word. What does being Canadian mean to you? And at the bottom, there's a little spot to sketch what it means to be Canadian... to draw a little doodle of whatever Canada means to you.
The CBC's Ismaila Alfa contributed to the project. He drew evergreens, which he said he found himself drawing frequently when he first moved to Canada from Nigeria.
When it comes to words that participants have offered up, Virani said, "One thing that comes out a lot is the word 'diverse,' celebrating the multiculturalism. We have ‘big,’ Canada is very big."
The duo started their travels in St. John's, NL and are continuing through to Victoria, B.C.
"We would have expected and have been validated in our thought that Canada is very open, accepting, welcoming."
He has received submissions from Canadians aged three to 77, and from people of all cultures, faiths, and occupations. He said some members of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet have even participated.
Once all of the sketches are collected, Virani will compile everything and reproduce it as a giant mural.
"What I like to say is that I'm kind of like the maestro or the conductor if you will. We have a lot of individual voices and individual interpretations of what it means to be Canadian, and I'm putting them together in one artistic style."
You can follow his journey and be part of the project by going to his website:www.aquil.ca/canada.