Joy. Justice. Connection. Achievement. Belonging. 

All words that four Humanities students used when asked about their experiences at McMaster — part of a recent art-based project designed to spread a message of inclusivity and diversity across campus. 

The project got its inspiration from work being done by the Advisory Committee on Equity (ACE) within the Faculty of Humanities.  

“I pitched this idea that we could do something that visibly marked some of the work we’re doing through ACE,” says Syrus Marcus Ware, an assistant professor in the School of the Arts (SOTA) and the project’s coordinator.

“We’re really trying to make space for all of us on campus, and making sure that students from all sorts of different communities on campus see themselves reflected.” 

Working with funding from the McMaster Okanagan Office of Health and Well-being, Ware reached out to artists Raven Davis and Theo Cuthand, both of whom were part of SOTA’s Artist-in-Residence program in 2022.  

The two artists worked with four students — Gemima Mukendi, Madi Law, Shaden Ahmed and Sofia Smith — to explore different lived experiences at McMaster: how they developed a sense of community as an international student, for example, or what it was like to move through campus using a mobility device.  

From those exploratory sessions, Cuthand produced four videos, each featuring a different student sharing their experiences. 

“I’ve met a lot of other disabled students here,” Madi Law, a communications studies and theatre student who graduated in May, says in her video. “Through that, and through some of the courses I’ve taken, especially the theatre courses, I’ve learned a lot about disability, about Deaf arts and performance, and that’s helped me feel connected to not only the McMaster community, but more comfortable in my disability.”  

Davis then took the words the students had used when sharing their experiences and incorporated them into posters featuring a picture of each student surrounded by energetic, bright colours.   

“There were a lot of words like courage, empowering, strength, love,” explains Ware. “That was the sense of what a lot of folks were feeling — that they really rose to themselves while here at McMaster and being part of these communities.” 

The videos are currently being shown on screen in L.R. Wilson Hall, with plans to display them and the posters on bulletin boards and video screens around campus. 

“Research shows that often those who have traditionally been under-recognized in institutions can really thrive when they see themselves recorded in the environment,” says Ware. “Hopefully, this project does exactly that.”