Please join our Artist-in-Residence, John Haiduk aka Skribbles, for a Community Canvas session out in Wilcox Park!

Participating in a Community Canvas session is an invitation to make art with zero expectation or judgment. This format provides participants with the same supplies used in the artist’s personal practice. As SKRIBBLES migrated from traditional canvas and permanent markers to upcycled door panels and high-flow acrylic paint markers in his own work, the pop-up format followed this same transition. Participants are encouraged to either find a blank space on the panels and add their own marks or build on top of what others have already created. Every contribution is part of a moving, living work that is subject to be layered over by future participants. All markers and paints provided are water-based and non-toxic. While these are high-quality artist materials, please be mindful that they can still stain clothing or personal items. Drop cloths are provided to ensure the protection of the surrounding area.

View more on John and our AIR program here.

About Community Canvas:: 

Arrival in Lowell - Community Canvas is an interactive pop-up created by the artist SKRIBBLES to bridge the gap between artwork and the viewer. In the Spring of 2022 during a month-long solo exhibition in Lowell, MA, the format was developed as an authentic way for the artist to engage with new people in a new city. By providing large canvases and permanent-markers for the public’s use, SKRIBBLES stripped away the sterile atmosphere of traditional art events and hosted his very first interactive exhibit, where the largest pieces on display were made by the community. 

The Pipedreams Open Mic - Over the following year, the format was refined through various iterations at local theaters, studios, and event venues. Its most successful and celebrated evolution occurred during monthly sessions at the Pipedreams Open Mic in downtown Lowell. This partnership allowed audience members and performers to create collectively throughout the night without needing to take center stage. This environment turned the act of making art into a communal routine and a proven social engine that thrived until the venue’s closure in 2023. 

Refuge Art School - Following the success of the open mic partnership, the Community Canvas format was adopted by Refuge Art School, an organization that SKRIBBLES joined to further their mission of making art accessible to all. Refuge students are now paid by the city to host these pop-ups which have evolved to include three large wooden panels that are painted over between uses. What began as an experiment for a newcomer to meet his neighbors has evolved into a well-known format, now providing opportunities for Lowell youth to engage with their community.

Lowell has since become the home of SKRIBBLES, but wherever he goes, Community Canvas follows. It remains a core collaborative pillar of his practice that will continue to travel to new towns and cities as he does. See the evolution of Community Canvas here.