When people are feeling lonely and misunderstood, can art help them find connectedness and identity?

Sheri Osden Nault believes it can.  

Sheri (pronouns they/them) is an assistant professor in studio arts at Western and an artist who identifies as Métis, queer and non-binary.  Art has always spoken to Sheri. They recall being astonished at the age of four by the accuracy of a drawing created by their uncle. The power of that moment grew and continued to make a strong impact on Sheri.  

“As I got older, drawing seriously in my sketchbooks, or even doodling, became a survival strategy. I exist in a more whole and healthy way when I'm making art. It's a career path and also a necessity.”

After the COVID pandemic took hold in 2020, Sheri began to understand the fear and loneliness people were feeling as so many were forced to stay indoors and away from others. They wondered how to help.  Sheri recognized that queer and Indigenous individuals already faced significant challenges in finding community – and feared pandemic restrictions would only intensify that sense of isolation.  

Then Sheri got an idea: send gift packages to queer Indigenous youth who could use a lift. Sheri posted a call for support on Instagram and got a remarkable response.  

Three years later, that initial gesture has become an official program called Gifts for Two-Spirit Youth. Each of the gift bundles sent to youth who request them contains items curated to a person’s interests, like traditional medicines, beadwork, books, art and reusable menstrual products.  

And Sheri is applying their experience and ability to support Western’s visual arts students in breaking new ground in artistic expression and seeing how art can enrich life.  

“There is value in all art that is around us. Whether it's a work of art, a theatre piece, a song, jewelry, all enrich human life. We don't want to be worried we will be replaced by a self-checkout or A.I. We want to have rich, embodied experiences. I think that art offers that. And that's extremely important.”