Masks in the time of Coronavirus: Leland’s Old Art Building co-hosts community art show

From staff reports

Over the last year more than 930 people nationwide decorated paper mache masks to explore their experiences related to the pandemic, and they are sharing them with the public at various virtual and in-person shows around northwest Michigan.

The latest exhibit to join the “Masks in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic” project is a collaboration between Michigan Legacy Art Park and Leelanau Community Cultural Center. It focuses on the work of more than 330 Leelanau County middle and high school students and volunteers from the Michigan Legacy Art Park, based at Crystal Mountain Resort near Thompsonville. This free exhibit will be on display at the Old Art Building in Leland from May 16-27.

Patricia Innis, artist and volunteer director of education for the Art Park, created this project to keep her volunteers engaged and in touch with one another. Innis realized the meaningful impact mask art had on her volunteers and took the initiative to transform this intimate activity into an opportunity for hundreds of people to use art to respond to the pandemic.

Prior to the upcoming exhibit at the Old Art Building, other organizations to host in-person viewings for residents in their local areas included the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts and Crooked Tree Arts Center.

The Art Park and the Cultural Center’s goal for the exhibit at the Old Art Building is to continue the conversation and foster a sense of connection at a time when many of us feel a stronger than ever need for it. The Leelanau Community Cultural Center chose May for this exhibit to acknowledge National Mental Health Month.

Art students from six Leelanau County high schools—Northport, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Leland, Suttons Bay, Glen Lake and Pathfinder School—will be represented at the Old Art Building exhibit.

The results demonstrate how the mask decorating process has been a therapeutic and empowering experience for many students.

“I think this is an incredible outlet since for a year they have not had a voice … no one really has,” said Jenny Evans, art teacher for Northport Schools. “This land of limbo that we have found ourselves in has taken a toll on everyone.”