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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 29 ,2 02 1 | 34 Simple marketing solutions for small businesses. marketing360.ca learn more at Get the Waterloo Region Record Friday and Saturday home delivery for just $175* AWEEK FOR12 MONTHS YOU'LL GET: • Friday and Saturday home delivery • Complimentary 6-day ePaper edition • Complimentary 6-day access to therecord.com website *Plus HST. This introductory offer is not available to existing Waterloo Region Record subscribers. Save 55% off the newsstand rate for Friday and Saturday delivery. This offer does not include New York Times International Weekly or Book Review sections, or the Waterloo Region Record TV Book. This offer is for a 12-month term and includes complimentary access to therecord.com and the Waterloo Region Record ePaper edition. Complimentary access is available to Waterloo Region Record home-delivery subscribers with an active account in good standing. 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View our privacy policy at www.thestar.com/privacy. Offer expires July 31, 2021. SAVE 55% OFFTHE NEWSSTAND RATE SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: wroffer.ca/deal/comm OR CALL: 519-894-3000 and quote code REC2DAY for Friday and Saturday home delivery for 12 months A picture might be worth 1,000 words, but local graphic designer Lucy Bilson believes text is a great way to connect ideas as art. "I think people have a lot to say at the moment about various things," said Bilson, the city's art- ist in residence for 2021. "I think having text allows you to present a lot of different thoughts quite quickly in a way that kind of brings them together and creates conversation; but you can still kind of hold separate thoughts on pause." A colourful collage she creat- ed using "experimental typogra- phy" is now on display in Moses Springer Park in Waterloo and highlights a range of opinions and thoughts about Canada Day and our national identity. Bilson said such work ex- plores an interdisciplinary space between design and art. "What that means is that I'm really interested in using my work to question what things are and exploring what design and art can be," she said. "I was able to create 50 differ- ent posters with different per- spectives from people in our com- munity and create a space for dif- ferent voices. There are very cele- bratory comments like 'Canada is hockey and it's the nicest place in the world' to 'Canada is a colonial state that shouldn't exist' and ev- erything in between." Such collaboration using a va- riety of artistic mediums is what Bilson hopes to achieve through her work as artist in residence this summer, even though people might be apart in body and mind. Due to the pandemic, Bilson said activities as part of her resi- dency can be picked up online from anywhere in the city and they aim to get people exploring various spaces with environmen- tal themes. "In the end, what I'm making is a collaborative work, through a lot of different themes and the ac- tivities we'll be doing through the summer (outdoors), and a lot of it is about giving people a sense of belonging and that these spaces belong to all of us and are acces- sible for all of us," said Bilson. Through a series of creative scavenger hunts and challenges, Bilson hopes to inspire people to get outside and explore their hometown -- whether it's the park by their house, new places they've never been or the trails they travel daily -- and look at them in a different way. From July to October, she'll be providing workshops, instruc- tion and programming through Create Waterloo's YouTube and social media channels. There are plans to explore Wa- terloo as a Bee City later this month. Other challenges will more broadly explore wildlife, nature and neighbourhoods. "Get out and make the most of what our city has to offer us," Bil- son said. "I think people often see their kids create at school, but lots of us aren't," she said. "And I think, inherently, all of us have that ability." People can draw, sketch, make a print. "Maybe you can collage some- thing or maybe you can take in- teresting photographs, or maybe you could try making some sculp- tures from found objects. There are so many different ways to ap- proach being creative and I want- ed to create an opportunity where people can connect to try out new things and at the same time explore our incredible green spaces." People have about a week to complete each challenge. Submissions will be assembled into visual works in the coming weeks and a treasure hunt is planned later this fall so people can find their work along local trails and in public spaces across the city. The launch video for Bilson's residency can be viewed at you- tube.com/watch?v=oKhyTAK- cAu8. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE WANTS PEOPLE TO EXPLORE, CREATE Waterloo artist Lucy Bilson alongside the Canada Day collage in Moses Springer Park, at the end by Marshall Street. Bilson said she hopes it creates opportunity for discussion, helps people to feel seen and represented, and that we get to learn something about others in our community. Chris Marion photo BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca NEWS