You Are Not Alone:
An International Mail Art Exhibition

In an age where our society was already becoming increasingly insular, the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic serves to only isolate us even more. Inspired by the spirit of the penpal and mail art movement, this exhibition will create a permanent physical and digital document of our existence in these times with more than 180 artists and 300 artworks.

Organizers:  Humam Alsalim, Co-Founder/Curator SYRIA.ART Association and Cyrrus Online Gallery; Paul Crawford, Curator Penticton Art Gallery; Khaled Youssef, Co-Founder SYRIA.ART Association

Current physical exhibition: Penticton Art Gallery, 199 Marina Way, Penticton, British Columbia V2A 1H5, Canada
Dates: September 18, 2020 to November 7, 2020
Venue: Project Room Gallery

Websites: You Are Not Alone; Penticton Art Gallery

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting imposition of self-isolation, the Penticton Art Gallery, in partnership with the Syria.art Association (Nice/Berlin), invited artists from across the globe to participate in an unprecedented art exhibition entitled, You Are Not Alone. Like a message in a bottle, we sent out a call to artists working in all media, to submit works which would serve as a testament to our resiliency, creativity, and collective humanity in face of these extraordinary times. Visit the website here.

We hoped this exhibition would not only celebrate the power of art, but will serve as a celebration of our diversity, culture, and be an important reminder, that regardless of where we live on this planet, we are not alone. For the artists whose work is represented, this was their opportunity to reach out to a global audience and share their voice and story while celebrating the beauty and creativity they have brought into this world through their art. Now more than ever we need to come together to celebrate our collective humanity. No one is immune to this pandemic and we hope this will help us get through this time by allowing us to share our stories, celebrate our diversity, mourn our losses, and heal as a planet.

These works will be kept as an archive by the Penticton Art Gallery, to serve as a time capsule, a permanent document of this moment in our history. The collection will be made available for loan to other galleries and museums across the globe. If you would be interested in hosting this exhibition, please contact the Penticton Art Gallery to make arrangements for hosting this exhibition.

Future exhibition dates are in the works for 2021 in Berlin and France with additional opportunities also being pursued. Thanks to Humam Alsalim, a permanent online exhibition will also remain as a lasting legacy of this project and the resulting exhibitions. Thank you to all the artists who submitted works and lent their voices to this project and we wish you all good health and hope that your families and communities remain safe during this global crisis.

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FEATURED ARTISTS

Daniel Airam (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France); Mohamed Al Mufti (Damascus, Syria); Mükremin Altıkardeş (Istanbul Turkey); Ward Alkhalaf (Beirut, Lebanon); loannis Anastasiou (Wroclaw, Poland); Mustafa Cevat Atalay (Tekirdag, Turkey); Li Araki (New York, New York, USA); Lilly Azbill (Snohomish, Washington, USA); Leslie Atkins (Seattle, Washington, USA); Noor Bahjat (United Arab Emirates); Dinny Bacio (Oosterhout, the Netherlands); Richard Baudet (Marseille, France); Chloe Lense Barnes (Bellingham, Washington, USA); Ava Baughn (Snohomish, Washington, USA); Pedro Bericat (Zaragoza, Spain); Lutz Beeke (Potsdam, Germany); Rosanne Bennett (Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada); Maja Irene Bolier (Utrecht, Netherlands); Daniel C. Boyer (Manhattan, New York, USA); Seth Berkowitz (Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada); Slim Blanks (Toronto, Ontario, Canada); Olga Campbell (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Lady Silvia Soares Boyer (Manhattan, New York, USA); Rose Braun (Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada); Chet Bromstein (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA); Müberra Bülbül (Istanbul Turkey); Olga Campbell + Beryl Woodrow (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Olivia Carle (Grand Junction, Colorado, USA); David Cantine (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada); Karen Cantine (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada); Angela Caporaso (Caserta, Italy); Chloe Clark (Mt. Vernon, Washington, USA); Robert Dmytruk (Trout Creek, British Columbia, Canada); Emily Collins (Bellingham, Washington, USA); R.F. Côté (Rimouski, Quebec, Canada); Danii Kessjan (Trier, Germany); Fabiola de Felipe (Shanghai, China); Caspar de Gelmini (Berlin, Germany); Majka Dokudowicz (Wroclaw, Poland); Amadeu Escórcio (Lisbon, Portugal); Madison Dowling (Bellingham, Washington, USA); Vikki Drummond (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada); Mike Dyer / Eat Art (San Francisco, California, USA); Ever Arts (Noordgouwe, the Netherlands); Romain Esteban (Paris, France); Graham Fox (Oliver, British Columbia, Canada); Thorsten Fuhrmann (Huglfing, Germany); Milicent Fambrough (San Antonio, Texas, USA); Raphael Faon (Paris, France); Arnarifotografie (Arnold Fieten) (Helmond, the Netherlands); Aliayta Foon-Dancoes (London, England); Francine Fox (Wayne, Nebraska, USA); Slavik Fokin (Odessa, Ukraine); Kenna Graff (Beaverdell, British Columbia, Canada); Garcilazo (Norberto Rodriguez de la Vega) (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); John Gayer (Helsinki, Finland); Marie Gibert (Paris, France); Susan Gold (Windsor, Ontario, Canada); Lola González (London, United Kingdom); Alexandra Goodall (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); i.g.h. / Private World (Tempe Arizona, USA); Tracey Jen + Liwen Weng (Bloomington, Indiana, USA); José Hernández (Trout Creek, British Columbia, Canada); Peter Halley (New York, New York, USA); Arne O. Haugen (Alleemy) (Paris/Nice, France); Dani Hasrouni (Berlin, Germany);Trevor Heater (Bellingham, Washington, USA); John Held Jr. (San Francisco, California, USA); Karla Hennig (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); Martin Herbert (Salt Spring Island, British Columbia Canada); Gerben Hermanus (Alkmaar, the Netherlands); Carol Hermesh (Summerland, British Columbia, Canada); Damien Hirst (London, England); Jennie Johnston (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada); Maggie Hope (Montreal, Quebec, Canada); Kevin House (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Kurt Hutterli (Kaleden, British Columbia, Canada); Eni Ilis (Campinas, ‎São Paulo, Brazil); Eli Nikolas Isenhour (Bellingham, Washington, USA); Cara Jaye (Bellingham, Washington, USA); Dave Johnson (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); Jennie Johnston (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada); Mary Joyce (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada); Skyler Kaster (Indianola, Washington, USA); Felipe Lamadrid (Cádiz, Spain); Amanda Lawrence (Orting, Washington, USA); Tiko Kerr (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Anna Khodorkovskaya (Vienna, Austria); David Lester (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Wanda Lock (Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada); Tracey Lewis (Guelph, Ontario, Canada); Alexander Limarev (Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia); Gastón Lisak (Barcelona, Spain); Ydna Lohraw (Milan, Italy); Lynn Malin (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada); Lizzy Magariños (Montevideo, Uruguay); Les McKinnion (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada); Elizabeth Magarinos (Montevideo, Uruguay); Dame Mailarta (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada); Randy Manuel (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); Victoria Mitchell (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Ann Mansolino (Calgary, Alberta, Canada); Althemia Marsland (Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada); Michelangelo Mayo (San Jose, California, USA); Cynthia Morrison (Lorida, Florida, USA); Destanne Norris (Vernon, British Columbia, Canada); Morv and Pixie (Germany/Czech Republic/Sweden); Keiichi Nakamura (Tokyo, Japan); Alina Nazarchuk (Everett, Washington, USA); Adrie van de Nieuwenhof (Helmond, the Netherlands); Katerina Nikoltsou (Thessaloniki, Greece); Dustin M. Price (New Underwood, South Dakota, USA); Andre Pace (Phoenix, Arizona, USA); Gloria Palacio (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Joey Patrickt (Oakland, California, USA); David Peniston (Oakland, California, USA); Horváth Piroska (Ried im Innkreis, Austria); Pawel Piotrowicz (Gdynia, Poland); J.C. Prod (Brest, France); Mohammed L Saleh (Damascus, Syria); Michel Salloum (Damascus, Syria); Özge Sayılgan (Istanbul, Turkey); Diego Racconi (Senago, Milan, Italy); Luke Ramsay (Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada); Todd Rigos (Athens, Greece); Uta Richter (Geneva, Switzerland); Nata Samkanashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia); Chris Sand + Stevie Kasm Sand (Bozeman, Montana, USA); Marco Sartorio (Naples, Italy); Clinton Sleeper (Tallahassee, Florida, USA); Roberto Scala (Milano, Spain); Christa Schlüter (Haar, Garmany); Suzanne Schmiddem (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); Ilya Semenenko-Basin (Moscow, Russia); Gary Sim (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Judith A. Skolnick (Washington, DC, USA); Honoria Starbuck (Austin, Texas, USA); Jean Smith (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Rocio Soncini (Vingrau, France); Brooke Stoddard (Bellingham, Washington, USA); Christine Sloan Stoddard (Brooklyn, New York, USA); Giovanni + Renata StraDA DA (Ravenna, Italy); Christine Sloan Stoddard (Brooklyn, New York, USA); Larry Wolfson (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Corinne Thiessen (Calgary, Alberta, Canada); Darryl Vance (Galway, Ireland); Laurence Vasselin (Aubervilliers, France); Ed Varney (Courtney, British Columbia, Canada); La Toan Vinh (Montreal, Quebec, Canada); Therese Gabriel Wilkins-Trees (Tuggerawong, NSW, Australia); Marissa Wedenig (Vienna, Austria); Hailey Williams (Covington, Washington, USA); Larry Wolfson (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Nel Witteman (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada); Beryl Woodrow (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Marlena Wyman (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada); Khaled Youssef (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France); Dominique Zoladz (Contes, Provence-Alpes-Cote D’Azur, France); Anantha Krishnan (Brussels, Belgium); Bahzad Sulaiman (Saarbrücken, Germany); Aram Abdulrahim (Latakia, Syria); Chris Hyslop a.k.a. Northern Congress (Missoula, Montana, USA); Claudio Parentela (Catanzaro, Italy); Georgios Varoutsos (Belfast, Northern Ireland); Daniele Virgilio (La Spezia, Italy)

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