When you’re at the playground, the fruit aisle at the grocery or even at the hardware store this summer, keep an eye out for what doesn’t quite belong there – a piece of art.
May kicks off another season of the Airdrie Regional ARTS Society’s Random ARTS of Kindness project. Members will be creating artwork to leave around the city for unsuspecting residents.
“People have a lot going on in their life, and sometimes, just the smallest little gestures can brighten their day,” said Elizabeth Hall, ARTS society president.
Recently, Hall said she handed one of the first pieces she created for the project to a stranger, because it looked like they were having a bad day. Though the woman eventually expressed her appreciation, Hall said she had to wrap her head around the gesture, first.
During the project’s inaugural season last year, Hall said the society saw similar reactions.
“We had people look up the artist’s address from the card (in the drop bag) and bring it back and put it on their step,” Hall said. “They just didn’t understand – ‘I can keep this?’”
All project contributors are members of the ARTS society, who volunteer their time and work as much as they can. Hall said many of the artists don’t have lots of opportunities to share their work, so leaving it for other people to find is a nice way to have it appreciated.
They’re passionate about their work, she said, and they want people to engage.
According to Melissa Brugleman, the ARTS’ educational facilitator, a young girl found a piece of art among the rice boxes at a grocery store during last year’s project. Brugleman said she shared with the society how happy and inspired she was, adding she wanted to be an artist as well.
Brugleman said she the projects are important to the artists as well – especially after a long, grueling winter.
“Now that spring is knocking on our door, people are still in doubt,” Brugleman said. “I haven’t taken the winter tires off my car yet, because I still think we’re going to get hit one more time.
“We’re pretty much all chomping at the bit to let loose on some artwork this year.”
The project runs from May 1 until September 30. The ARTS society encourages Airdronians who come across any artworks in the wild to let them know by posting on their Facebook page.
