On Wednesday April 20, 2022, Erica Richmond, who grew up in Dresden, of Open Sky Stories in Peterborough Ontario and Shannon Fitzgerald of Bold Moves Studio in Hillsborough North Carolina released their book, The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19.
This is the story of what happens when a global pandemic is captured through pieces of mail art from around the world. The Mail Art Stories Project, Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19 is a collection of decorated envelopes and postcards created between April 2020 – September 2021.
In April 2020, Shannon and Erica joined together and asked the world to share their stories of living within the Covid-19 pandemic.
The catch?
Each story was to be created as pieces of art with the suggested addition of three words or phrases and sent through the mail.
“Early in the first lockdown, I sat in my house and contemplated how I might be able to help others who were feeling isolated and scared around the world. That’s how the idea for this project was born,” said Fitzgerald, in a media release.
Before long, Erica and Shannon’s mailboxes became vessels of heartache, celebration & much desired connection.
In total there were 119 submissions from 52 individuals coming from 11 different countries.
The youngest participant was seven-years-old.
Many had never created mail art before, while others were well-experienced, starting their journey through the art form as early as the 1970s.
There are submissions from pen pals (one from Sri Lanka and one from Spain) who met during Covid19 and chose to participate together.
There are submissions from a young boy and his Nana who were missing each other terribly.
There is a submission from a family who chose to complete this project as a team.
“In all the stories that were shared, there was an overwhelming cry for connection that often felt met by this simple act of sending mail to complete strangers,” Richmond added, in a media release.
The Mail Art Stories Project is available for purchase from any bookstore, including Indigo and Amazon.
ISBN-10: 0578395339 ISBN-13: 978-0578395333
You can also purchase directly from the authors: openskystories.com or boldmovesstudio.com.
