Photo Credit:  Kim Ondaatje, Doors (from the series The House on Picadilly Street)

As the pandemic continues on in the province, we’ve put together this list of arts-based activities in Ontario that explore mental health and wellbeing.

Mindful Mondays – Guided Meditation at the  Art Gallery of Windsor

Twice a month through 2021 on Zoom

Focus on reflecting and relaxing with the Art Gallery of Windsor’s team of mindfulness guides and educators. The meditation series, which happens twice a month on Zoom, draws on inspiration from the gallery’s permanent collection as well as their current exhibitions. 

 

Photo: text on an orange and blue background. Text: Art Gallery of Windsor Mindful Mondays, virtual guided meditation and art appreciation. Twice a month, 12pm-12:30pm, register at www.agw.ca
Credit: Art Gallery of Windsor

In collaboration with the Singapore Mental Health Film festival, Workman Arts will be screening Land of Not Knowing, a documentary where artists talk about the role of suicide in their lives and the stigma surrounding it. An accompanying panel discussion will take place on May 27th at 8PM on Zoom.

Seniors Social at the AGO

Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 2 pm on Zoom

This weekly AGO series invites older adults to connect with one another through creativity and making. In this session, participants are encouraged to explore the emotions behind childhood memories through portraiture,  focusing on the works of an Albertsz Rotius and William Kurelek. 

Painting of a young woman in olden day attire next to flowers.
Jan Albertsz Rotius, Portrait of a Young Girl with Carnations c. 1663, oil on canvas, 118.1 x 96.5 cm. Gift of Miss L. Aileen Larkin, 1945. Credit: Art Gallery of Ontario

Creative Writing Workshop with InkWell Arts

Wednesday Afternoons from 2pm – 3:30 pm on Zoom

InkWell Arts’ fiction, poetry, and memoir workshops encourage participants who have experienced mental health or addiction challenges to write and share stories with one another. All InkWell workshop instructors are writers who have lived experience of mental illness. For a list of sessions, click here.

Get out your journals, paints, and colouring pencils. In this workshop, participants will be led in narrative and expressive art therapies and wellness planning methods to explore their mental health creatively.


Header: Kim Ondaatje, Doors (from the series The House on Picadilly Street)