The Students Igniting Vaccine Confidence team, supported by WE-Spark Health Institute, in collaboration with the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, organized an art installation to boost vaccine confidence.

“Vaccine confidence is the trust people have in vaccines, the healthcare providers who administer them, and the health system from which they come,” said campaign lead Loretta Sbrocca, a UWindsor research associate.

“Art is a unique communication tool; it provides a chance for people to meet, experience, discuss and think in person. Also, effective communication needs to be tailored to resonate with specific audiences — that is why the art was created by students, for students.”

The five artists — Elyssa Biscocho, Aya El-Hashemi, and Ruqayyah Faizan of the University of Windsor and St. Clair students Isabel De Zubiria and Gillian Marocko — gathered Oct. 2 at two locations on the main college’s campus.

They chalked messages on sidewalks, encouraging passersby to gain confidence in inoculation.

“I joined the Sparking Vaccine Confidence project in hopes of employing my artistic and creative lens in an effort to build vaccine confidence within underrepresented and minority groups,” said El-Hashemi, an MSc. candidate in translational health science.