What began as a class project to better support OCAD University students experiencing mental health issues has evolved into a public resource that is striking a chord during COVID-19.
Students in the second-year Design Think Tank course, that wrapped up in March, spent most of the semester developing a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness about mental health services on campus. The “OCAD U ok?” campaign was driven by the results of their survey of more than 260 students, which revealed many don’t know how to access help for anxiety or depression.
The campaign was to include a university-wide workshop, a series of posters, free art therapy, and an exhibition of “personal identity masks” painted by the students showing their two faces—to the world, and to themselves. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic scuttled their months of hard work—but the students saw an opportunity to make a bigger impact.
Guided by instructor Beverly Dywan, the students transformed parts of their project into a virtual initiative. On the @ocadu_ok Instagram account are dozens of posts contributed by the students—inspirational images, quotes, artwork and videos reflecting their creative responses to promoting wellness during this public health crisis.
“The students really got into it,” says Dywan, an Industrial Design instructor in the Faculty of Design. “They had already completed their work and the semester was over, but they really stepped up.”
The posts include some of the posters the students had designed for the original campus campaign, along with original illustrations and animations. Others include self-care tips, trivia questions, origami instructions and images of rainbows. Among the most popular: a video of a student and her brother making pancakes, and another showing a machine in OCAD U’s Rapid Prototyping Centre making face shields for health-care workers at Michael Garron Hospital. Others are current memes and popular videos, including one of Kim’s Convenience actor Simu Liu performing a quarantine-time serenade.
With the term over, the students’ contributions have naturally tapered off, but @ocadu_ok will live on, as Dywan is continuing to update it.
“I think the students were really happy to be able to help,” Dywan says.
Art therapy guide
Right now, many of us are looking for creative outlets to ease our stress and come to terms with the new reality triggered by the pandemic.
Dean Davis understands the potency of art in promoting well-being, and they want to tell us how. Davis is an art therapist who for two years facilitated a weekly art therapy group on campus at OCAD U until it was put on pause by the coronavirus. Now, they have developed a free booklet for the public called Art Techniques for Stress Reduction During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The 13-page document starts by explaining the value of art in helping us understand our feelings. It then explains the processes for getting started in a variety of 2D and 3D art forms, including drawing, collage, mixed media and pottery.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about how long this is going to last and what the impacts will be,” says Davis, who completed their Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography at OCAD U in 2014. “
“The physical feeling of making art can help reduce stress. You are taking stuff out of your body, stressful energy, and putting it onto a piece of paper or into clay…I hope that people are able to either use this guide in a way that feels helpful for them or share it with others.”
Yoga
It’s probably never been a better time to take up meditation or yoga, and OCAD University alum Leeay Aikawa wants to show you how.
For Aikawa, being an artist extends beyond her work as a professional graphic designer and illustrator: she has applied it to Creative Force Meditation, an 18-minute meditation session she developed and shared on YouTube to help us tap into our inner creative voice during quarantine time.
Another resource she offers is Calm your mind with Nadi Shodhana, which shows how to do alternate nostril breathing to help us soothe our minds.