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Katie Green is a visual artist based in Calgary, Alberta, who uses various mediums to create transformative community experiences. Her watercolour personas are emotionally visceral reflections of the human experience, while her murals are immersive scenes of fantasy that often involve communities in the mask-making process. This results in large-scale public expressions of hidden identities and internal experiences.
Katie Green’s community-driven mask project for the James Ensor-inspired Crystal Ship Festival is a beautiful and inspiring initiative that brings together the community to build relationships, find healing, explore oneself, and have some fun!
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
Each participant selected a small portrait painting depicting a different emotion that lead artist Katie Green had prepared as the foundation for their mask. Depending on which portrait the participant selects, their unique emotional reaction will guide them towards the self they wish to explore.
Image Copyright Katie Green
From here, following a technique using woven cardboard, they built a mask form onto which they paper-mache a paper print of their selected portrait. The result is a unique mask that translates their vision of self.
Image Copyright Katie Green
By designing and wearing a mask, participants are given the opportunity to present society with an internal, alternate, or imagined part of themselves. This approach to mural-making prioritises intimacy and showcases individuality while celebrating the surrounding landscape and architecture of their neighbourhood.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The project brought together six participants from the Spinaas, the creative label and inclusive arts space of Duinhelm vzw and Briek vzw, in an intimate three-part workshop series that included circle sharing, journaling, mask-making, and creative character development.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The workshops created a safe and intentional space to listen, learn, and share one another’s stories, putting care and relationship building at the centre of this process.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The participants explored how each individual relates to their selected portrait, asking questions such as, “How does this portrait make you feel?“, “If this character could speak to you, what would it say?” and “If there was a part of you that could be more visible in the outer world, what would it be?”
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The photoshoots gave participants the opportunity to wear and embody their masks, exploring aspects of self in front of the camera. Depending on the character development exercises in the workshop phase, the participant chooses their costuming and environment.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The project creates a safe and intentional space where participants can explore and express different aspects of themselves through the masks they create. Using masks as a symbol of intrigue, Katie Green brings us closer to the mystery of what lies beyond, inviting us to befriend our imaginations as we ponder the hidden subjects.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
Like James Ensor, Katie uses masks as a symbol of intrigue. Masks are a passageway between what we perceive on the outside and the mystery of what lies beyond. In Ensor’s work, his masks are unpredictable, and we are invited to befriend our imaginations as we ponder the hidden subjects.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
In this project, masks become an extension of the self, and each participant is guided through a curated process that brings them closer to their internal landscape.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
The final mural image for The Crystal Ship, chosen by participant William, was taken inside the house of James Ensor, where the painter grew up. William chose his mask due to his admiration for Ostend’s beloved 19th-century painter, James Ensor, which perfectly aligned with the festival’s theme.
Image Copyright Visit Oostende – Arne Deboosere
Katie Green printed and pasted the final chosen image from the shoot onto an exceptionally large building at Lijndraaiersstraat 60, by Ostend’s train station.
Image Copyright Jules Cesure
Katie Green’s mask project highlights the importance of intimacy and individuality, all while celebrating the unique creativity of each participant. Through this project, individuals are given the opportunity to express different facets of themselves and their emotions, ultimately bringing them closer to their internal landscape in a fun, creative and engaging way.
Image Copyright Jules Cesure
“My time at the Crystal Ship felt like an opening in so many ways. I met many incredible people, including the other participating artists, festival organizers, and of course, the participants of the projects. The nature of this project is so intimate and I am always a bit nervous coming to a new place with a project that asks for such vulnerability in its engagement. It takes time to build relationships and gain trust, but there is something magical that happens when art is the medium to create connections. Even though there were language barriers and new considerations when it came to ensuring the workshop process was accessible to folks with various needs, the paintings and mask making itself became a new language and way to build connections. While some participants, like William, made a mask that honoured their favourite artist, others made characters where they transformed into a moon in the clouds, an opera singer, or followed their big heart, making a mask about their crush. Each story is unique and absolutely wonderful. I am always so touched by what emerges in these special times together – it’s those memories and the intentional time spent together that create such fulfilment in this process.”
Katie Green
Katie’s work focuses on personal intuition, impulse, and expression without judgment. The result is an authentic, fun and empowering experience for everyone involved.
Image Copyright Jules Cesure
Katie Green has received support from grants and international residencies and has executed murals in Canada, the United States, India, Taiwan, Germany and now Belgium. Her collaborators include The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, cSPACE King Edward, The Esker Foundation, and more. Katie graduated with distinction from the University of Calgary’s BFA program.
