Graduate student Nathan Schaffer is behind the no-rules mural in the Centre for Fine Arts, inviting anyone to contribute
Amelia Ruthven-Nelson
Recruitment manager
@AmeliaR_N
From March 7-8, people passing through the Centre for Fine Arts were encouraged to join in an open participation mural. Nathan Schaffer, a graduate student in environmental studies, supplied the materials for his project as part of the Eco Art and Media Festival, which ran through the week of March 5.
The festival has run every year since 1995, and its primary goal has been to inspire discussion about environmental and social issues through diverse and creative expression. This is the second time Schaffer has submitted an open participation piece and hundreds of students, faculty members, and visitors stopped by to contribute.
“The truth is, so much of life is forced to be within a particular set of boundaries,” says Schaffer. “It’s fun to do something where the only consequence is something beautiful.” He insisted that he started the project just because he wanted people to have more fun in life. “Parties are fun, but 50 per cent of the people at them are having a bad time. Art is fun.”
Every hour, the mural seemed to drastically change, from a scenic view of the ocean floor to the wall of a building filled with inspirational messages. You could see that it was influenced by an array of artists. The range of participants was also a sight to see; business students in suits and ties along with a class of elementary students on a field trip were part of the many people who contributed.
Despite the world joining in with the painting party, the CFA stayed clean and tidy, which was one of the few conditions for using the facility. Schaffer made sure the floor and the lockers, across from the mural, were all properly lined and protected. In the evenings, when the painting had paused, there was no indication, aside from the actual mural itself,—that anything in the CFA had been different during the day.
The mural was a great experience. Schaffer succeeded in providing students with an opportunity to just have fun. Painting without actually worrying about the end result gave students the much-needed break from the crunch time of essays and exams in March.
“It’s more about the moment of doing it than the plans for it,” says Schaffer. There are no immediate plans for the finished mural, but Schaffer is up for any suggestions.
