Community art project comes together in a huge way

Community art project brings Londoners together Trapdoor London created a way to involve the community while having to shut down during the current crisis

London, Ont. — You never know when you'll be inspired to create something.

When Valerie Charlebois, Derek Noon, and Chris Toth were forced to shut the doors to their company due to the current COVID-19 crisis, they did what others in the downtown area did; they boarded up the storefront to Trapdoor London.

Rather than leave the plywood board bare, they decided to create a community art project, inviting Londoners to participate.

"We were inspired by artwork that we saw across London," Charlebois said. "People putting up pictures and collages on their front windows and their front doors…"

That inspired them to cut up large puzzle pieces and distribute them to anyone in the area who wanted to paint a piece or two and add to the giant mural. The response was overwhelming, and every single piece was claimed and painted.

After collecting all 180 painted pieces, Charlebois and Noon returned to the store on Sunday morning to put them together, and hung them on the covering to their storefront.

Thanks to the efforts of many talented Londoners, the painted pieces joined together to create a work of art now visible on Dundas Street.

Once the doors to Trapdoor London are reopened, they plan to take the pieces and bring them inside to feature within the walls of their company, forever preserving the community spirit that remained strong throughout the pandemic.

As many other companies, Trapdoor London has shifted their sale of themed board games and puzzles online, offering porch drop offs.

For now, passersby can enjoy the puzzle mural in front of their store until they reopen and visit them on social media.