A small bouquet of bright yellow, orange, and red flowers stands upright in a sculptural ceramic vase. Against a dull concrete background, the green leafy stems burst with liveness. A vibrant horizontal band of coral-coloured painted plywood cuts across the photograph, picking up and diffusing the energy of the floral spray. The viewer\u2019s gaze moves fluidly between these dynamic bursts of light, and a calming, harmonious sensation sets in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piece described above, Flowers for Shahed Kaleel<\/em> (2021) is the photographic culmination of a collaborative project between the social practice collective Waard Ward, sculptor Nicolas Fleming, and the photographer Darren Rigo. At the work\u2019s conceptual root is Waard Ward, a joint initiative that invites newcomers to Canada to train as florists to imagine social-entrepreneurial futures. Composed of the Syrian florist Abd Al-Mounim, community organizers Hanen Nanaa and Laura Ritacca, artist Petrina Ng, and curator\/educator Patricia Ritacca, the collective offered a series of workshops in September 2021 to newly-arrived Arab-speaking individuals at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington in Bowmanville, Ontario. For this occasion, Fleming designed and built a site-specific floristry teaching studio. Flowers were grown locally in Whitby, Ontario, by Allison Chow (Posy Gang), and ceramic vessels were conceived by Frances Thelma Sauer Lorenz. Darren Rigo then documented these assemblages and installations, which shifted weekly as the group practiced and developed new skills . More than the sum of its parts, this collaborative exchange of skills, resources, aesthetics, and cultural knowledge and experiences is a testament to the potential of social practice to create holistic and meaningful encounters between diverse peoples. The end results, like the image Flowers for Shoruk Alsakni<\/em> (2021), are but momentary snapshots of a longer hands-on approach. Each step of the way, from Waard Ward advisor Joseph Pitawanakwat\u2019s nature walks which decolonize the land by teaching newcomers about settler responsibilities, to the framed photographic prints displayed for exhibition, contains the traces of those who collectively shaped this project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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