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Melanie Schambach (born September 14, 1981) is a Colombian-Canadian social artist known for her participatory paintings that explore themes of humanism, identity, and interconnectedness. With over two decades of experience, Schambach has facilitated more than 300 community-based art projects involving over 10,000 participants worldwide.[1] Her work integrates storytelling, large-scale collaborative paintings, and arts-based action research to address social integration in the face of global challenges.[2]
Melanie Schambach was born on September 14, 1981, in Bogotá, Colombia. She spent her early years in Dapa and later moved to Guatemala City in 1996. In 2001, she relocated to Canada, and currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Schambach’s participatory art projects have engaged diverse communities worldwide, emphasizing inclusivity and dismantling power dynamics to foster authenticity and relational practices.[3] Notable projects include:
The photo shows the Harbour Centre parkade at Homer and Cordova Streets, Vancouver, featuring a 24' x 32' painting created with over 90 participants, reflecting undertold stories of migration to Coast Salish land since time immemorial.The Belonging Action, 2012 (Vancouver, Canada): A participatory mural project engaged over 80 participants of diverse cultures to explore themes of migration, cultural heritage, and belonging in Coast Salish territories. Partially funded by the City of Vancouver, the 5-month community engagement process led by artist Melanie Schambach was permanently installed in Vancouver Harbour Centre.[4]
Connected in Chaos, 2020 (London, Canada): A hybrid art process engaged 115 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic to counteract isolation by inviting both virtual and in-person participation while reflecting on themes relevant to this time. Mixed-media artworks combined created thirteen digital murals installed on the Richmond Street Underpass.[5]
Si A La Vida, 2011 (San Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala): a 30' long participatory painting created by 65 youth directly affected by mining activities linked to Goldcorp, a Vancouver-based mining company, carried the stories of resilience and environmental justice to Vancouver audience through mining-related events.[6]
E Ala E, 2021 (Lummi Nation, USA): An 18' x 18' participatory painting, produced in collaboration with the House of Tears Carvers during the Red Road to DC Totem Pole Journey, highlighted the urgent need to protect sacred sites across North America. The process engaged 300 participants who shared stories and incorporated diverse contributions, blending traditional and contemporary storytelling elements to amplify Indigenous-led advocacy for environmental and cultural preservation.[7]
Art In Just Recovery, 2023 (Guelph, Canada): a mixed media project that explored community care in pandemic recovery through a series of in-person and online art-making workshops. 70 participants created artworks that came together in a large-scale digital artwork.[8][9]
Schambach designs participatory processes tailored to the unique needs of communities and organizations, incorporating hybrid methods, large-scale canvases, installations, critical thinking, and arts-based action research. Her approach emphasize:
Learning through Failure in the creative process. In 2018, a Failure Art Workshop & Installation was developed, combining self-reflection, collaborative artistry, and experiential learning to explore the multifaceted nature of failure, culminating in a 40-foot art mobile that now serves as a reflective centerpiece at Innovation Works[10]
Dismantling Perfectionism through art. In 2021, a eight-module art process was co-designed with Art Not Shame to challenge perfectionism by exploring its roots in white-body supremacy, using visual arts as experiential exercises to foster reflection, choice, and agency over internalized beliefs.[11][12]
Arts-based Action research. In 2021, the "Fostering Dialogues" project engaged LGBTQ+ older adults and personal support homecare workers in a 12-week virtual arts and dialogue program, exploring themes of home, care, and future community-based care through facilitated conversations and experiential learning through collaborative art-making, culminating in a collective digital mural.[13][14]
Documenting historical Narratives through Participatory Arts. In 2020, in response to the need for decolonizing educational research, a process was designed that combined participatory action research, archival records, and social art to reflect on 100 years of the university's history. This democratic methodology integrated student participation, community engagement, and social change, offering a transformative approach to revisiting educational worldviews, ways of knowing, and institutional practices.[15][1]
In 2021, as part of the Red Road to DC Totem Pole Journey, Schambach contributed to a painting that served as a participatory methodological tool to build collective capacity for understanding interconnection, integrating visual storytelling and collaborative art to foster reflection on our shared responsibility to protect sacred sites and the environment.[7][16]
Schambach’s work has been featured in publications such as:
Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (2024): Featured in Curating with Care: Exhibiting and Programming Sensitive Subject Matter in Galleries and Museums, discussing approaches to handling sensitive topics through art and exhibitions.[19][2]
Egale (2023):"Q&A on Arts-Based Action Research," by Dr. Ashley Flanagan, discussing Schambach’s methodologies in participatory arts.[14][3]
City Symposium (2023): Featured speaker, sharing insights on participatory art as a tool for community engagement and social change.[20][4]
The Canadian Journal of Action Research (2022): Highlighting contributions to arts-based participatory research.[15][5]
Werklund, CA (2018):"From Reticence to Resistance" by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau, featuring Schambach’s participatory methods in arts-based research.[3][6]
Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (2017):"This painting is nice, but I wish it were more political," by Katherine Fobear, discussing Schambach’s approach to political engagement in visual arts.[21][7]
The Shoreline Project (2014):"The Shore Line: A Totem Pole Journey," by Liz Miller, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, highlighting Schambach’s role in visual storytelling for 2014 Totem-Pole Journey.[22][8]
Women and Environments Magazine (2006):"Crossing Boundaries: Women, Art, and Community Activism," an article by Schambach on art’s role in fostering community change.[23][9]
Global News (2020): Coverage of her mural Connected in Chaos, a reflection on the pandemic’s impact, installed at the Richmond St. Underpass in London, ON.[24][10]
The Tyee (2013):"Stanley Park Mural Project Raises Censorship Question," by David P. Ball, examining issues of censorship in Schambach’s community-based mural project.[25][11]
Straight.com (2011):"Goldcorp’s Guatemalan Mine Attracts Criticism," highlighting the intersection of Schambach’s art with human rights and environmental advocacy.[26][12]
Seattle Art Museum (2015):"Creative Cartographies," a collaborative multi-media art map created with Michael Lewis, Melanie Schambach, and Cynthia Updegrave, exploring Seattle's past, present, and future.[27][13]
