STAR was a participatory community art project created by STO Union in Wakefield in December 2021, during a period when the COVID-19 pandemic had sharply limited the ways people could gather and connect.
Installed at Kaffé 1870, the project invited people to name someone who had helped, supported or lifted them up, and to write about that person on a STAR card. Some cards were dedicated to people who had died, offering a way to remember them at a time when people had not always been able to gather together to mark their loss.
The cards remained on the walls of Kaffé 1870, gradually becoming an installation: a gallery of reflections from a community living through a stressful and isolating period. Together, they formed a public record of gratitude, grief, care, friendship and connection.
In exchange for taking part, participants could choose a handmade star ornament made from recycled beer cans by the artist Al Koholic.
People who wished to make a charitable contribution were directed to donate directly to the Wakefield Community Emergency Fund.*
The project concluded with The STAR Grand Finale Video, created from recycled clips from earlier STO Union projects and handmade puppets made by people in the community.
This community-engaged video reflects the handmade, improvised nature of STAR. It was created as part of a participatory community project during the pandemic, rather than as a conventional professional film production.
THE STAR GRAND FINALE VIDEO — CREDITS
Written, directed and edited by: Nadia Ross
Technical director and collaborator: Rob Scott
Michael: Michael Clarke
Puppet: cj fleury
Puppeteering: Rob Scott
Tom: Tom Werbo
Puppet: George Acheson
Puppeteering: Nadia Ross
Sheena: Sheena Turcotte
Puppet: Hannah Ranger
Puppeteering: Nadia Ross
Interpreters: Renée Richard and Nadia Ross
“We Found Love”: Wayne Hunter
Puppets of the band Rebelle: George Acheson
Wayne puppet: Wayne and Sue Hunter
Set painting: cj fleury
Head set and props: Rob Scott
Head costume: Heidi Honegger
Puppets, puppeteering and additional video support:
Ruth Salmon, Allysun Wellburn, Neko Jay Wellburn, River Jay Wellburn, Paul Jay, Susan Lee, Michael Kinghorn, Tanya Smith, Sasha Smith, Jill Rick, Randy McMillan, Stacey Wearne, James Wearne, Jeff Smith, Jen Hamilton, William Hamilton St-Aumond, Freya Hamilton St-Aumond, cj fleury, Linda Vanderlee, Annick Landry, Stephanie Hill, De Danann Davey (Dai), Wayne Hunter, Sue Hunter, Irene Halang, Michelle April, JP Campbell, Al Koholic, Michele Oser, Nelson Oser, Manon LeBlanc, Phil Cohen, Dianne Rogers, Anne Winship, Ava Wentges, Taylor Wentges, Paulette Saltman, Ryan MacDonald, Lori Doran, Melanie Somers, Luther Wright, Lynne Bedbrooke, Hannah Ranger, Kathryn Drysdale, Diane Lemire, Kathleen Gilbert, Margery Leach, Agnes Krischel, Julie Cameron, Heidi Honegger, George Acheson and Rick Ritza
STAR PROJECT — CREDITS
Project producers: Nadia Ross, Callie Garvey-Munro and Shauna Kadyschuk
Handmade recycled beer-can stars: Al Koholic
Project partners:
Wakefield Community Emergency Fund / Fonds de secours de la communauté de Wakefield
Kaffé 1870
Graphic and web design: South Hill Graphics
Special thanks: STO Union’s volunteers and Board of Directors: Franceska Gnarowski, François Édouard Bernier, Denise Deziel and Agnes Krischel
STO Union gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
* STO Union did not receive or administer any donations made to the Wakefield Community Emergency Fund.
