Taking care of yourself through art and culture

There's something to be said when, at least fiveof your work colleagues, 10 of your closest friends and the vast majorityof your 300-plusFacebookfriends, your 70-year-oldaunt and even your toddlerall express, in their own ways, and with varying degrees of aggression, that what's happening south of the border is driving them crazy.

Your aunt has a strong case because she lives in the belly of that beast.

It's taught me that things that don't necessarily directly impact myday to day lifecan cause stress and anxiety.

And that stress is amplified when I look atacts of violence or other trauma around the worldand close to home.

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Compound that with justtrying to get through the obstacles of my daily life, I see how I and others around me could be setting ourselves up for depression and burn-out without realizing it.

SundusAbdulHadi realizes it.

Pop-up event

The artist is curating anew pop-up event in Montreal which asks usto take the time to notice and use art and culture to help heal and turn those negative stressors in our livesinto positive experiences.

Take Care of Yourself, or#TCOY,is an artistic take on the notion (and necessity) of self-care.

"I'm really trying to take the approach of self care becoming equivalent to community care," Abdul Hadi explains, "and not just a privilege we are awarded but something we have to strive for within our own communities and our own selves;especially within communities of colour and especially communities coming from struggleand trauma."

There's no shortage of sources of inspiration at#TCOY.

Until July14, you can visit the gallery exhibit, at 3845 Blvd. St-Laurent, showcasing 28 artists from Montreal, other parts of Canada and abroad who've intentionally created works of art that reflect their questioning of various themes of trauma andstruggle.

Some of the work touches on their own personal experiences or looks at larger issues and communities.

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As part of #TCOY, there will also be breathing interventions, a live tattooing ceremony, artists workshops and panel discussions,poetry and live painting even a flash performance.

Act of creating is healing

The act of creating has been healing for the artists, and by extending their creations to broader audiences, they aim to helpothers heal. As part of that goal,AbdulHadihas published a booklet of mental health resources in Montreal, with the help of Montreal'sMonster Academy, an online mental health resource centre for youth.

One of the artists taking part in #TCOYisApril Banks from Los Angeles. She's hosting a tea ceremony at Le Marchdes clusiers in the Old Port.

Tea Afaris a new projectinspired by the kind of hospitality that Banksreceived while on residencyin various countries around the world.

The tea ceremony represents a shift forBanks fromher previous work.

Her visual installationsfocused on agricultural production in the developing world and the trauma created by the reliance of industrialized societies on those commodities.

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Banks never pretended to have all the answers. For her, her work was about raising awareness. Still, many people confronted her about the messages she was trying to convey.

Banks said she knew when she started to feel stressed from thepushback she was getting thatit was time for her to take care of herself.

Syrian tradition

"The project that I'm doing here in Montrealis more about celebrating how we come together and how we extend welcome to each other," Banks said.

In celebration of the new community of Syrians here in Montreal, the tea ceremony will be in the Syrian tradition,with tea courtesy of Camellia Sinensisand food from Damasrestaurant. There will be photography and music while 40 Montrealers, three of whom have prepared stories about their relationship to Syria, will simply meet and break bread.

"It's really a conversation about culture and not even meant to be super heavy and deep. We might talk about the soup your grandmother makes just, you know, everyday life," Banks said.

Banks blogs about the tea experience on her new site, where she shares her own photos from her travels, as well as articles from other writers about different countries and cultures.

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BringingTea Afarto Montreal's #TCOY where self-care is the focusmade sense toBanks since she, too, recognizes the value taking care of herselfbrought to her own work.

"I reached a point of fatigue.'Is this effective? Why am I doing it, am I actually making a difference?'"she explained.

"For me, sometimes self-care is about stepping away, turning it off, changing your focus, and,yeah, you just see things differently, experience things differently. Time slows down, and I think we have to find that balance."

Take Care of Yourself takes place at 3845 St-Laurent Boulevard until July 14.

Tea Afaris a one-day eventat Marchdes clusiersatthe Old Port on July 18.