Amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has shrouded part of life in a dark dreariness, a group of community partners has brightened up the situation with colorful designs and hope.
Not to mention safety.
The Columbus Area Arts Council, supported by a collective grant from The Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, Columbus Regional Health and Healthy Communities’ Proyecto Salud Action Team has completed one phase of what it is calling The Mask Project.
The partners have worked together so far to create and distribute about 700 to 1,000 of a projected 7,500 free face masks for the public. And they’re hardly just any mundane masks.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Not by a long shot.
They include vivid patterns, whimsical designs, and even a part of Columbus’ architectural icons. Plus, some highlight current messages about solidarity, unity and approaching the pandemic day by day.
The effort "engages local artists and designers to create custom fabric patterns for face masks that are not only useful, but also fun and fashionable," according to the arts council website at artsincolumbus.org.
"I’m so proud of our organization that we could do this to help and to inspire and uplift the community, said Kathryn Armstrong, the arts council’s executive director.
Armstrong mentioned that the nonprofit agency has worked with a team of of about 75 people, including artists and volunteers, to create four mask sizes: extra small, small, medium and large.
The masks currently are available to the public at The Columbus Area Visitors Center, the Bartholomew County Public Library and Viewpoint Books.
"This really has been a well-done project," said Tracy Souza, president of The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
Local designers were given free reign to allow the creative muse to move them toward a design of their choosing. Columbus native and University of Illinois architecture student Mila Lipinski created a design highlighting part of Columbus’ architectural skyline, partly because she has been working this summer as a tour guide at the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
"I drew inspiration from some of Columbus’s most iconic architecture and Paul Rand’s 1974 Dancing Cs color scheme," Lipinski said.
Brown County textile artist Daren Redman copied a multi-colored, abstract design from one of her popular quilts.
J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program graduate student Priscilla Rocha created a pattern of upward-reaching hands with various skin colors "to show how simple and beautiful equality is. This mask design is a call for everyone to do their part for a better world, together."
Columbus painter Christine Sullivan incorporated imagery "from my new series started during the pandemic called ‘pandemic purple,’ as my first few paintings were of lilacs in a vase — and the painting process helped me find a bit of peace during those crazy first few weeks."
Armstrong said that the project could extend to perhaps the end of the year, if the demand and need remains.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to get a free mask” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Masks from the Columbus Area Arts Council’s The Mask Project currently are available to the public at:
- The Columbus Area Visitors Center, 506 Fifth St.
- The Bartholomew County Public Library, 536 Fifth St.
- Viewpoint Books, 548 Washington St.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
