This gallery demonstrates the difference one person can make in helping a community heal from trauma.
In an event that makes very little sense, on June 16th, 2011, in the aftermath of the loss of the Stanley Cup to Boston, there were riots in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to injuries, many businesses had windows smashed and there was looting.
But what was most remarkable was the community response to this event. The next morning, volunteers arrived to begin the clean-up. The many broken windows were boarded up. Streets were swept. The community came together to try to heal the damage done to Vancouver's heart.
But more than that, people began to use the site of the damage as a way to process what had happened. They processed it by writing on the boards that covered the windows. Layer upon layer of writing.
And then one woman, Ingrid Tamboline, had an idea. Inspired by a Museum of Anthropology event to honor the Dali Lama's visit to Vancouver in 2004, she came up with the idea of the "Kindness Flag Project." She brought art supplies and encouraged people to create their own "prayer" flags. Soon, the call went out on the internet and there was a facebook page and flikr site.
These flags were hung up in front of the site of the worst damage, the Hudson Bay Department Store and other areas in the City. In an interview on June 22, Tamboline estimated that over 2000 flags had been created.
We can only say that we were stunned when we saw the layers and layers of flags. It would be nearly impossible to photograph them all. So the following is a selection of the ones that seemed special to us. Some had single words of wisdom, while others had longer comments. We particularly were struck by the many comments that gave thanks to police and other service agencies.
So this gallery honors Ingrid Tamboline and her understanding that art, and community art, can be used for healing.
© Visual Ovation Photography