This page will be updated regularly as the project progresses.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for everyone as we are continuously faced with new restrictions, data on positive cases and constantly updated health recommendations and safety protocols. The exhibition showcases adolescents’ lived experiences of the pandemic through their own voices in animation. Six Saskatoon youth artists share their first-hand experiences and interpretations of living during a pandemic.

Through attending participatory animation workshops, participants learned how to use animation to deliver their stories. The animations were created using frame-by-frame and, stop-motion animation or a combination of both. Animation techniques involved drawing, abstraction and found object manipulation to characterize the pandemic and to bring experiences to life in a magical way. The personal stories of living in the COVID-19 pandemic as a Saskatoon youth are brought to light through expressive artistic means revealing new insights and knowledge about the experience.

This exhibition is a component of Meagan Hong’s health studies honours research project and thesis that aims to disseminate research findings and individual participant voices in response to the pandemic to a wide audience. Her introductory animation will be made in conjunction with the participatory component to convey her research findings following the completion of her thesis in April. Pandemic Life Project acts as a widely accessible knowledge translation tool sharing both youth voices and research findings.