CityStudio Inspired - Diverse Populations: Personal Art Gallery

Welcome to our Virtual Art Gallery

Exhibit Focus is: Diverse Populations

This is a CityStudio Inspired Project. The CityStudio Inspired category was introduced for initiatives that have been inspired by, or grown out of, our formal CityStudio Program. Inspired initiatives are unique, follow their own timelines and paths and are supported by a variety of community partners.

Where did this project come from?

In the summer of 2021, the UFV Art Gallery hosted an exhibition of work from 4 multicultural artists to promote the movement of Black Lives Matter. This CityStudio Inspired project grew out the Summer 2020 CityStudio GEOG 464 students' idea to create murals throughout the community to help build resilience, equity, and inclusivity. "I was invited to attend and was inspired by the passion of the artists, acknowledging that any oppression hurts all in society. I talked with the UFV coordinator and said I would like to invest in this work by designing a CYC 485 Diverse Populations course assignment to support it."

The students were asked to view the 4 paintings (https://www.abbotsfordblm.ca/ ), read about the artists, and then, using any medium, create their own art about allyship with vulnerable populations like cultural minorities. They then created an “Artist’s statement” to further give voice to their perspective. One student grappled with guilt and shame at “passing for white” and not owning her heritage. One student displayed what she saw while marching in a BLM rally. Another used this as a springboard to support the “No farmers, No food” movement. One musically gifted student composed an original song for the class, full of “major and minor chords, to represent inequity”.

This was a visual and visceral way for the class to express feelings about social injustice in their worlds.

UFV Course: CYC 485 - Diverse Populations (Instructor: Maple Melder-Crozier)

Using the construct of Social Capital, students hear the voices from those who are living in diverse populations. These speakers share how their diversity shaped who they are now, the challenges in their youth, and how Child Youth Care (CYC) practitioners could support them.

We would like to thank Dr. Maple Melder Crozier and her students for sharing their personal reflections and helping us understand what culture means to our community.

The following works are personal reflections presented by students.