Art from CIEVA clients included in new, permanent art installation
Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s the case, when the Canada Connects Nature’s Spectacle Mural goes on display in Woodstock, it should be worth at least 57,000.
That’s because the mural, which will be on permanent display, is composed of many small paintings, including one from each of the 57 workers at CIEVA in Woodstock.
CIEVA, or the Community Industries Employment Vocational Association, has been operating in Woodstock for the past 45 years, providing intellectually disabled clients with the opportunity to learn life skills and interact with their peers. It also offers work placements.
“It [gives] them a sense of accomplishment,” said CIEVA Executive Director Becky Webster-Snoad of her organization’s program.
Webster-Snoad said everyone in the organization is excited about the local unveiling of this unique art piece.
“It’s going to be huge for our clients,” she said. “This is going to give them such a sense of achievement and accomplishment, knowing they’re a part of something that big.”
And the mural IS big. Comprised of 2,300 tiles from people across Canada, it measures 12 by 24 feet, or 3.6 metres by 7.3 metres. The unveiling will take place on Wednesday, April 23, at 2 p.m. at the Old Home Week Hobby Barn, located beside the AYR Motor Centre in Connell Park, where it will be permanently displayed.
Mural Mosaic’s Global Roots is a unique initiative that aims to bring people from around the world together through the power of art. Each Mural Mosaic production invites people from diverse communities to come together and celebrate their unity through their unique expressions of art. With each tile placed in a mural, Global Roots is reconnecting the world through the joy of art – one tile, one mural mosaic, one country at a time.
CIEVA clients, Mayor Trina Jones, and other local politicians have been invited to the unveiling on Wednesday and are expected to attend.
Webster-Snoad also hopes that the mural will encourage tourism in the town, bringing people in to see the extensive and unique art installation.
