Local mural keeps residents in Waterloo Region connected during the pandemic

Local mural connects residents during pandemic From CTV Kitchener’s Jessica Smith: Community mural connects residents by showcasing different stories and experiences from the pandemic.

Waterloo — A community art project called ‘Belong Together’ is keeping residents in Waterloo Region connected during the pandemic.

It’s a colourful mural made-up of tessellated tile, with every piece representing a person’s unique experience of living through the pandemic.

Jason Panda, a teacher in Waterloo Region, and his friend Cameron Turner started the project by offering hundreds of tiles to family and friends to decorate.

“So even though we’re not necessarily together right now, they are part of a bigger puzzle and they do belong together,” Panda said.

Alyssa Panda has been volunteering to help expand the project. She said ‘Belong Together’ represents the individual journey that each person is going through.

“Every single tile is decorated differently,” Panda said. “There is not a single tile that you will ever find that is going to look exactly the same as another one.”

Residents, like Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate teacher Stella Andonoff, have contributed to the mural.

“It just presented an opportunity for me to offer students that I had shared tiles with an opportunity to express themselves,” Andonoff said.

Organizers say they sent out over 15,000 tiles to those wanting to take part, with requests coming from across Canada and even the United States.

“As much as it is visual, it is not about art. It’s about connectedness and participation,” said co-creator Cameron Turner.

People are asked to donate at least one dollar to cover the cost of the tiles.

The group planned to wrap up the project at the end of the year but said they will keep it going as long as people want to keep participating.