Artist Lynn Cociani recently put on her first solo exhibit to highlight Prince Rupert residents that help make the community what it is.
Convergence: A Portrait of Community showcases 24 Rupertites that work toward making Prince Rupert a better place to live, with Cociani finding inspiration for her work from community involvement.
“I was thinking of a coming together. We’re a place where the Skeena meets the ocean, and where the land meets the sea, but it’s also is the coming together of people to create this place,” said Cociani, who moved to Prince Rupert eight years ago.
Subjects included in the exhibit consist of politicians, union heads, service providers, culture preservers, Aboriginal advocates, activists, environmentalists, movement starters, childcare workers, literacy promoters, volunteers, art supporters, ministers and people who in general go up and above for Prince Rupert.
“These people deserve to be recognized,” Cociani said.
“There’s a lot of people who are high profile, but a lot of people fly under the radar... I wanted to celebrate those people.”
Cociani said while she was working on each subject’s piece she would spend a lot of time thinking about them; What they do for Prince Rupert and who they are. While working on each individual’s piece she would end up learning about them after hearing things from people in the community.
“I feel really bonded to them. Some of these people I don’t really know, but I still feel really bonded to them,” she said, adding she really respects and admires everyone featured in Convergence: A Portrait of Community.
“I did [the exhibit] as a way of saying thank you to these people, but I got so much back from it. I got a stronger sense of community connection from it, and I’ve made some new friends. It’s been such a positive experience from it,” Cociani said.
Cociani said she originally approached people within her own social circle, but the project quickly grew.
“Each person I would contact would suggest another one or two people... There’s so many other people I could’ve done a portrait of because there’s hundreds of people doing so many things in this town but I only had room for 24,” she said.
Cociani said it was inspiring to see how many people are involved in making Prince Rupert a great place to live.
“The more people I get to know, the more it feels like home... I can’t remember living in a place where I had that feeling of connection like I do here,” the artist said.
The exhibit’s reception date was April 12, but will be up at the Ruth Harvey Art Gallery at the Museum of Northern B.C. until May 13.
“Say what you want about Prince Rupert, but it’s really an amazing place because of the beautiful surroundings we have, and because of the amazing people,” Cociani said.