Seneca College hosted a fundraiser for the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization, Doctors Without Borders, in an effort to raise awareness for the Syrian refugees and other displaced people around the world.
The event titled Make a Difference, involved students from a variety of different Seneca programs, and featured musical performances, video presentations, a silent auction, and a live comics display.
Students from Seneca’s Independent Illustration program created comic art based off recent news articles on the Syrian refugee crisis.
“This was a personal initiative of mine,” says Michael Maynard, dean of faculty of communication, art and design. “I was increasingly disturbed by the images in the media of refugees. In particular, of children being washed up on beaches.”
In addition to fundraising, Maynard hoped the event would make Seneca students aware of “their role as global citizens.”
Seneca faculty members JoAnn Purcell and Martha Newbigging were responsible for mobilizing students from Seneca’s independent illustration program to create unique pieces of comic art for the event. The illustration students created their comics as a visual commentary on the Syrian refugee crisis.
“They use (the news articles) as a starting point, and interpret it in their own way,” says Newbigging. “It’s sort of an experiment with the creative process and responding to the media and issues.”
“A lot of people are responding with words and text,” says Purcell. “But we wanted [our students], as artists, to respond with images.”
Graduating illustration student Shianney Zaelani offered her opinion on the use of art and imagery to raise awareness and communicate the importance of current events.
“It opens up the audience,” says Zaelani. “You can illustrate a comic without words. You can speak to younger kids about really serious topics. Even language is no longer a barrier.”
To further demonstrate a commitment to Syrian refugees, Seneca President David Agnew announced that Seneca would fund the tuition of ten Syrian refugees coming to study at Seneca.
“It’s a huge commitment on the part of Seneca,” says Maynard, who adds that he is “very proud to be part of such a community of engaged citizens.”
A selection of the comics created at this event will run in this issue of Excalibur.
Christopher Lai, Comics and Graphics Editor
Featured image courtesy of Christopher Lai
