We have all spent more time inside the four walls of our homes than we ever expected to, but they need not be as blank. We have bought Ikea Kallax storage shelves in walnut or white, organized our spaces over and over again to get our desk just right and framed our Zoom screens to avoid the things we don’t want to share in a meeting. We have set up our spaces to live in. Now, as this lockdown ends, we step into a new leg of life in Waterloo Region. None of us will come out of this long journey unaffected, but we can step out and live here with a new passion, new eyes, and a new zeal for everything local. On June 19 we can do all that while searching for a piece of local beauty to decorate the canvases of our homes.
I’m Brad Bauer and four years ago, I participated in an Art Hunt that saw local artists and makers hiding art for people like you and me to find; it’s similar to Geocaching or Pokemon Go for people who want to live local and love art.
Over the past year, I realized that Art Hunt must return in order for our region to socially recover, for local artists to be seen and for us to have a reason to explore and find new locations to love.
After hunting down the previous organizer, I took over the Instagram account @arthuntwr. The Art Hunt is back in Waterloo Region! As you read this, local artists are creating artwork which they will hide all over Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo on Jun. 19. They will use the hashtag #arthuntWR to help you scour the region for the next masterpiece to perch proudly on your Kallax shelf just in the frame of your next Zoom call.
To join in the project, check out the Instagram page @arthuntwr, both to find art and to learn about some of our region’s awesome local artists. Also, follow the #arthuntwr to see when artists post.
As we finish the last bit of this stay-at-home order, be encouraged. There is beauty out there for you to find!
