Art & Resilient Cities: Graphic Recording

I was very fortunate to spend 3 days last week with a group of about 20 amazing people discussing how art could/should contribute to create resilient (sustainable) cities for people. A group of artists had met the previous three days to discuss the same topic and we took it from where they stopped. This meeting was convened by the McConnell Foundation and Musagetes, and hosted by the Breuninger Foundation on a beautiful 6-acre island (Wasan Island) on Muskoka Lake, Ontario. It is impossible to gather in one illustration all the interesting conversations and amazing ideas that came up over the course of three days. But, using my notes and sketches, I tried to capture visually the main things that stuck with me; some call to action items; and how the experience felt to me, including the spectacular Canada Day fireworks which were attended by dozens of boats that looked like little fireflies. The group will move forward with some actions items such as creating graphics and style guidelines for future communication materials; mapping relationships between art and cities; reclaiming decommissioned buildings for artists; testing a “collaboratory“; etc. Many things to look forward to…