Mural Routes Member(s): VIBE Arts
Artist(s): Rob Matejka
Producer: VIBE Arts
Category: Artist Mentoring, Contemporary, Creative Realism, Other, Realism
The Amplify Mural was set to mobilize young artists from Bob Rumball’s Digital Camp for the Deaf and the CNIB to create a mural at the Antibes Community Centre. However, due to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, VIBE Arts reimagined this project in a groundbreaking style taking place over the course of several months through a series of virtual programs led by artist Rob Matejka and culminated in a mural comprised of 75+ pieces created by youth across the GTA.
Beginning in July 2020, youth at the Bob Rumball Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf, Deaf Digital Camp created imagery that informed the theme and elements of the overall mural design. Many of the images were inspired by the handshapes used in ASL.
The next program engaged a group of blind and sight-impaired youth with the CNIB. Participants were given a kit of mural-making supplies and led through a series of online workshops where they added patterns and texture to enhance the flat shapes.
The third group to participate were young artists ranging in age from 6 – 15 years old, spread across the GTA from Scarborough to Etobicoke, participating remotely from their homes, in addition to youth in a family shelter, hospice patients and a young artist at Sick Kids Hospital.
The final artwork is reflective of and accessible to participants, incorporating the use of visual and tactile imagery and ASL. In November 2020 the 75+ pieces that make up Amplify were installed onto the outside wall of the Antibes Community Centre in North York by City of Toronto Staff, supported by artist Rob Matejka and VIBE Community Program Manager Susie Whaley.
We hope that community members and folks all across the GTA will be able to visit The Amplify Mural once it is safe to do so!
The Amplify Mural is a City of Toronto Cultural Hotspot Signature Project.
Where to Find This Mural
Location: Antibes Community Centre, 140 Antibes Dr, North York, ON M2R 3J3 | Get Directions
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