29 messages à Quebec

For the 3rd anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque Attack, I created and delivered booklets containing 29 messages of hope, healing and solidarity, crowdsourced from the public all over the world and illustrated using stencils and black spray-paint.

After collecting messages from the crowd at a candlelight vigil for the victims in Montreal, I launched an open call online for additional submissions. Short expressions came from all over the world – in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Persian and Arabic. I chose 29 of them to illustrate in black and white using spray paint and handcuff stencils.

Thank you to the Silk Road Institute, TakingItGlobal and the Government of Canada for their financial support. Shoutout to the following individuals for their help: Anna Bunce, Binish Ahmed, Glory Sikka, Bea Alexander, Gurprasad Green, Marianna Licciardello, Mohamed Mimoun, Gina Granter, Manal Alhamwi, Ali Di Paolo, Nakita Valerio, Eve-Marie Paiement, Alvina Nadeem, Navidad Mg, Valerie Behiery, Howard Mitnick, Mercedeh Baroque, Mohamed Shaheen, Jennifer Corriero, Charaf Amhaouch, Zébida Bendjeddou, Amira Bahmed, Linda Bahmed, Mona Mohamed, Claudia Atomei, Rebecca Jones, Alex Tran, Morgane CG, Ariel Harlap, Meags Fitzgerald, Shanti Gonzales, Hadi Salami, Fatima Saya, Céline Le Merlus, Mark Rostrup, Lisa Kannakko, Kim Boucher-Morin, and Dominique Noor.

29 messages à Quebec

For the 3rd anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque Attack, I created and delivered booklets containing 29 messages of hope, healing and solidarity, crowdsourced from the public all over the world and illustrated using stencils and black spray-paint.

After collecting messages from the crowd at a candlelight vigil for the victims in Montreal, I launched an open call online for additional submissions. Short expressions came from all over the world – in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Persian and Arabic. I chose 29 of them to illustrate in black and white using spray paint and handcuff stencils.

Thank you to the Silk Road Institute, TakingItGlobal and the Government of Canada for their financial support. Shoutout to the following individuals for their help: Anna Bunce, Binish Ahmed, Glory Sikka, Bea Alexander, Gurprasad Green, Marianna Licciardello, Mohamed Mimoun, Gina Granter, Manal Alhamwi, Ali Di Paolo, Nakita Valerio, Eve-Marie Paiement, Alvina Nadeem, Navidad Mg, Valerie Behiery, Howard Mitnick, Mercedeh Baroque, Mohamed Shaheen, Jennifer Corriero, Charaf Amhaouch, Zébida Bendjeddou, Amira Bahmed, Linda Bahmed, Mona Mohamed, Claudia Atomei, Rebecca Jones, Alex Tran, Morgane CG, Ariel Harlap, Meags Fitzgerald, Shanti Gonzales, Hadi Salami, Fatima Saya, Céline Le Merlus, Mark Rostrup, Lisa Kannakko, Kim Boucher-Morin, and Dominique Noor.

29 messages à Quebec

For the 3rd anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque Attack, I created and delivered booklets containing 29 messages of hope, healing and solidarity, crowdsourced from the public all over the world and illustrated using stencils and black spray-paint.

After collecting messages from the crowd at a candlelight vigil for the victims in Montreal, I launched an open call online for additional submissions. Short expressions came from all over the world – in English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Persian and Arabic. I chose 29 of them to illustrate in black and white using spray paint and handcuff stencils.

Thank you to the Silk Road Institute, TakingItGlobal and the Government of Canada for their financial support. Shoutout to the following individuals for their help: Anna Bunce, Binish Ahmed, Glory Sikka, Bea Alexander, Gurprasad Green, Marianna Licciardello, Mohamed Mimoun, Gina Granter, Manal Alhamwi, Ali Di Paolo, Nakita Valerio, Eve-Marie Paiement, Alvina Nadeem, Navidad Mg, Valerie Behiery, Howard Mitnick, Mercedeh Baroque, Mohamed Shaheen, Jennifer Corriero, Charaf Amhaouch, Zébida Bendjeddou, Amira Bahmed, Linda Bahmed, Mona Mohamed, Claudia Atomei, Rebecca Jones, Alex Tran, Morgane CG, Ariel Harlap, Meags Fitzgerald, Shanti Gonzales, Hadi Salami, Fatima Saya, Céline Le Merlus, Mark Rostrup, Lisa Kannakko, Kim Boucher-Morin, and Dominique Noor.

Humans without borders – a collaborative drawing.

I crowdsourced creative slogan ideas on the theme of “celebrating difference” from the Copenhagen Poetry Club in English and Danish to produce a collaborative drawing and a series of spray-painted prints. Left as gifts throughout the city, the artworks explored the power of a concise phrase to communicate something clear and meaningful.

Click here to learn more about projects I completed while in Copenhagen.

La paix est possible (“Peace is possible”)

Artist Aquil Virani asked friends on social media for phrases starting with the word, “Peace…”, remixing their suggestions into a mosaic of visual doodles.

The collaborative artwork features the phrase, La paix est possible (“Peace is possible”), pulled from André Michel’s Manifeste pour la paix. The work was featured in a travelling exhibit of the Manifesto launch and selected among hundreds of submissions to be exhibited at the Biennale of Drawing hosted by the Musée des beaux-arts de Mont Saint-Hilaire.
Ink on paper. 12 x 12 inches. 2018.

Français : Pour commencer, l’artiste Aquil Virani a demandé au public des phrases commençant par le mot « Paix… » En présentant les mots de la déclaration, « La paix par la paix pour la paix est possible » au centre de l’œuvre – qui ne sont pas évidents mais toujours visibles – Virani nous fournit une étincelle d’optimisme. Si nous recherchons la paix, il est possible de le trouver.

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative artwork at Paul Smiths College.

The 7th edition of the “We Are All Artists” project.

Award-winning artist Aquil Virani’s collaborative “We are all artists” project was unveiled during Paul Smiths College convocation this past September. Over the span of seven years, Virani has worked with more than 1,000 first-year students and used his own creativity to create artwork unique to each class. This year’s piece centres the compass as a metaphor for personal goals and priorities; it was featured in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. See the full piece in the Joan Weill Adirondack Library on campus.