The Wellness Initiative for Newcomers revealed some new art made by some new Canadians at Adventure Bay Saturday.
The initiative came together with the help of Windsor Women Working with Immigrant Women, some enthusiastic kids, and a $6,000 grant from the Ontario Art Council, WIN was able to put together four mosaic sculptures and a small library.
The group, better known as "W5", is a Windsor based women's group that helps women and their families adjust to life in Canada.
Functional art structures created for the Glengarry-Marentette area by @theinitiativeGM with the @wwwwiw_org @AdventureBayFWP. #cklw pic.twitter.com/eSLLYtyrdk
— Gord Bacon (@baconAM800) July 8, 2017
Most of the anti-bullying, anti-racism themed work, will be placed at Kinsmen Park in the Glengarry Marrentette neighbourhood of east Windsor.
Some of the pieces will be placed near local businesses according to WIN's Leo Gil.
He told AM800 News the artwork was part beautification project, and part teaching tool.
"The youth were kind of able to learn about themselves, learn about different ways of coping with challenges like stress, anger, and seeing the flip side of how dealing with those challenges internally can help out a community in general," he says.
While the project is for the Glengarry neighbourhood, Gil says kids from across the city joined in with the help of some bus passes donated by The Multicultural Council and the Red Cross.
"The age range is from about 12 to about 17. The majority of them are newcomers from within the Glengarry neighbourhood, but also from across the city," says Gil. "We have individuals from Syria, we have individuals from Iraq, individuals from the Dominican Republic."
Gil says finding a partner with similar goals to work with made a difference.
"We were looking for a partner on a mosaic kind of art work project and W5 and us came together and we were able to develop a curriculum," he says. "We developed a curriculum for mental wellness and how that linked into community wellness, it was a perfect fit."
The artwork was created as part of an eight week collaborative program to develop community mental awareness with the help of artist Julie Butler, according to Gil.