Calgary artists celebrate Canada’s Black frontline workers
Posted Aug 31, 2020 6:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (CityNews) – Two local artists are celebrating the country’s Black frontline workers with an upcoming exhibition.
The project, Faces of Our Frontline, was created by University of Calgary students Tarannum Rahnuma and Shyla Bharadia.
They started Faces of Our Frontline as Black Lives Matter movements continue to gain momentum around the world.
The goal of the project is to showcase vital members of the community who have risked their lives to keep others safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Part of this project stems from a sense of powerlessness – because of the ongoing pandemic, we were often stuck at home, feeling as though we could not do anything meaningful to support the Black Lives Matter movement,” explained Shyla. “That is when we came up with the idea for this project; we both have an interest in healthcare and in art, and had been reading about how COVID-19 has exacerbated trends of healthcare inequalities, notably in the Black community.”
“The Black community faces, in general, worse health outcomes due to social and systemic disparities. We believe art to primarily be a response to the world and to circumstances, so we felt that we could use our talents to both create an appreciation for what Black Canadian frontline workers do to keep us safe while also raising money for charity.
“Our goal with this project is to affirm the importance of Black lives in Canada by recognizing the contributions of Black frontline workers through our portraits and to fundraise for the Black Health Alliance. This is our way of supporting the push for racial equality in healthcare.”
The painted portraits will be on display at cSPACE King Edward from Sept. 1 to 21.
Proceeds from any artwork sold during the exhibition will be donated to the Black Health Alliance organization.
