Tett community art project adds splash of colour to Kingston City Hall

By Hollie Pratt-Campbell

Unsuspecting passersby found themselves drawn into the world of art and culture on Saturday, Sept. 27 when Kingston City Hall came alive with colour, hip hop and breakdancing; the colour came in the form of one of Canada’s most familiar household items, as local artist Mark Reinhart shared his unique art form, “painting”with duct tape, with community members.

“It feels great,”said Reinhart of seeing people of all ages create images out of duct tape on the ground, walls and steps of the City Hall courtyard.

The event, dubbed “Sticking Around the City,”was organized by the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning as part of the Ontario-wide Culture Days festival, which took place Sept. 26-28.

Reinhart hoped that the project would allow participants to find their inner artists.

“I hope they take away the fact that there are a lot of different ways to enter into the community art conversation. You can watch, you can dance, you can duct tape. But I think the most important thing is that you’re here.”

He noted that the novelty of using a classic, everyday material in a different way can go a long way toward opening people’s minds and inviting them to view the world differently.

“I’ve actually had people come up and have a nostalgic response to it - like, they’ll say ‘oh my dad used to use duct tape all the time’or something, and that’s their way in. Then they say ‘I’ve never thought about it as art before.’ That’s kind of ideal for me - to get them to approach things in a different way.”

Tett community engagement coordinator, Shannon Brown, was excited to bring this event to the public, and give them a taste of the kind of thing the Tett will offer when it officially opens this winter.

“I don’t think Kingston’s ever seen anything quite like this. It’s really exciting. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback.”

She remarked that it was great to see new people trying out duct tape painting, and some even joining in dance troupe Kinetiq Crew’s breakdancing demonstration.

“The purpose of today’s event is to bring awareness to arts and to culture, and also to help people realize that they too can make art. It’s not just for artists. Everyone is creative and everyone can try their hand at something that’s maybe outside of their comfort zone.”

Brown added that this sort of event celebrates what the Tett is all about - creativity and learning - just like the name of the organization says.

“The philosophy of the Tett is about making the arts accessible to all different groups, and also making partnerships between the City, Queen’s University and other Kingston communities. This brings people together and shows them how much fun arts and culture can be.”