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THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 13 From the latest information on local politics, to minor sports scores, to what's going on down the street, visit www.waterloochronicle.ca CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY CITY LIFE WATERLOO CHRONICLEWATERLOO CHRONICLE AROUND TOWN By Bob Vrbanac Chronicle Sta� More than 500 faces stare out at you at the City of Waterloo Museum's new-est exhibit called "We are Waterloo." There are familiar local faces and some that are not so familiar using mixed mediums to capture the essence of each subject in a portrait. There are some that are whimsical and others that are quite serious as the project attempts to present the modern face of the city as it kicks o� Canada 150 celebrations. It's the culmination of a year-long com- munity art project that invited members of the public to work with 18 established artists and create images of themselves that would be put out for display. Artistic ability wasn't a requirement -- just a little bit of imagination and exploration of the amateur artists' own creativity in contributing a self-portrait. "Anybody can be engaged in art as an expression of identity and of other things," said Katie Wilde, culture program co-ordinator with the City of Waterloo. "You don't have to be an artist to do art, and I think that was a bit of a barrier for some people to jump over, but they absolutely did. "It was meant to capture a snapshot of the diversity of Waterloo as it stands now." Some interesting things are revealed in the project that is invitingly arranged at the City of Waterloo Museum located at Conestoga Mall. � e � rst thing one notices is a mirror that welcomes the public to add their face to the display. There is also a predominance of female faces on display. It seems that men weren't as adventurous in exploring their place and add- ing their face to the community project. � at's in stark contrast to the recent exhibit "We Built this City," featuring portraits of all of Waterloo's mayors, which, for most of the city's history, have been white males. "It's a wonderful cross-section of society," said Karen VandenBrink, manager of muse- um and archival collections with the city. "If you compare it back to the mayor's portraits, we have such a wider cultural representation within this exhibition." The story it tells is a symbolic one of the growth and the change experienced by the city. It was a democratic project meant to get as much representation of the current popu- lace of the city as possible. That includes student faces just passing through, or aboriginal ones that hark back to Canada's � rst peoples. � e artists who led the public arts sessions also contributed their own styles to the project and some of those in� uences show up in the exhibit. "Some of them are a little abstract, while some were in� uenced by cartoon artists, and you see all of that re� ected in the portraits," said VandenBrink. It's also a bit of a di� erent exhibit for the museum, as it doesn't feature objects or arti- facts of Waterloo's past, but a representation of the people who make up the community now and will shape it for the future. "History is about people and their stories," said VandenBrink. "� is is a way of storytell- ing. "This is a snapshot of our community at this moment of time, but in a very different way of getting that across especially when you look at some of the portraits and what it evokes about the person. "What is that emotion they're conveying through their self-portrait." � e presentation also relied on the muse- um sta� 's skills to bring together the faces in a way that is both interesting while o� ering the visitor a reason to pause. "� ese are just like our neighbourhoods," said VandenBrink. "You don't know who your neighbours are until you're part of that com- munity." � e City of Waterloo Museum will also fea- turing special programming around March break for kids and will get them to do their own portraits. � ere will also be challenges to � nd familiar faces, including Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky and some other members of council who are on the wall. "We tried to build in some activities and to get the kids involved," said Jinni Hartmann, museum and archival collections specialist. "We noticed a lot of people with glasses, so we'll also asks questions like how many people there are with glasses in each panel." � e exhibit gets a public kick o� today, Jan. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m., with contributors invited to come in and � nd their own portrait. For more info visit www.waterloo.ca/museum. Faces of the future We are Waterloo portrait project tells a story of city as it is now Faces collected from the We are Waterloo portrait project stare out from the walls of the City of Waterloo Museum, at the Conestoga Mall, to June 9. SUBMITTED PHOTO Skate and Date Night Jan. 27 It's a special Skate and Date Night Jan. 27, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Waterloo public square. Enjoy a romantic skating date under the soft lights of the square. � e event features music, complimentary warm beverages and more. For more information visit www.waterloo.ca/en/get- tingactive/newyearseve.asp. Horti Society's annual AGM Jan. 27 � e � rst meeting of 2017 for the Waterloo Horticul- tural Society will take place on Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m., at the Adult Recreation Centre, 185 King St. S., Waterloo. Don't forget to wear red and white to show your pride as the society will begin celebrating Canada's 150th birthday. � ey will also be awarding prizes to our Competition winners and introducing our new Board of Directors for 2017. � ere will be a brief annual general meeting followed by a question and answer period where Waterloo gar- deners can get advice from our experts. Annual memberships are $10 and due in January. � ey are available at the meeting or visit www.water- loohort.org to download a form and renew by mail. For more information, call 519-747-1867. Annual walk for Alzheimer's Jan. 29 � e annual Walk for Alzheimer's is set for Jan. 29, 1 to 3 p.m., at the indoor track at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Walk for Alzheimer's is an annual nationwide pledge-based fundraiser. It's the most important fund- raiser of the year for Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wel- lington, and it allows it to o� er programs and services to individuals living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Register by visiting www.support.alzheimer.ca. Reg- istering online gives you a personal pledge page -- where friends, family members, neighbours and co- workers can see your fundraising progress and donate directly to your walk.