PRESS RELEASE

Voices of Hope

In such times of uncertainty that we find ourselves in, it can be hard to find uplifting news stories, Artist Alison Beaumont is launching a new initiative that hopes to engage community, sharing kindness and connection. Beaumont had an idea back in March when the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns began and is now excited to launch this new project,  “I have always been grateful for the community connections around me, whether its neighbours, co-workers or even a stranger you might meet in the street. I think about when the car in front has paid for my coffee or when I didn’t have dollar for my cart, there are kind helpers all around”, said Beaumont with the pandemic she found that these chance encounters and interactions were lacking. “I did a short project last year looking at neighbours and community, I wanted see if I could expand the idea of community and belonging to wider than my own neighbourhood.

What if I could bring together voices from community? What would that look like? Could I create a platform where I could facilitate people to share their messages of hope, empathy and support?” said Beaumont. Having launched a new webpage and social media for the project which will be the hub where photographs and voices will be gathered in an online gallery, Beaumont is asking for interested members of the community to contact her.  She will then photograph and record each voice of hope using safe physical distancing, prompting with questions about positive memories since the start of the pandemic, acts of kindness they may have been recipients of and also if they have a message of hope, empathy or support they would like to share with the world. As the portraits and voices are collated, they will be posted on the website as well as social media channels.

Listen to Alison speak about the Voices of Hope on CBC Day Break South (November 25th, 2020) Click Here

Alison was interviewed by Eddie Izzard as part of her #MakeHumanityGreatAgain Run for Hope in January 2021. Also explains more about Voices of Hope and her inspiration for the project.

Want to get involved? You can call or text 250-212-8553 , visit the voices of hope website with regular updates on Facebook and Instagram.