Art Force 5 Honors Lucile Mallard

Art Force 5, a traveling community art troupe, will visit the Finger Lakes Community College main campus on Monday, March 11, to create a mosaic of Lucile Mallard, president of the Geneva NAACP and resource coordinator for Canandaigua City Court. Mallard has been honored for her civil rights advocacy and her work with the adult treatment court program, also referred to as drug court, which offers drug offenders an alternative to incarceration. “I am so truly grateful to be receiving such an awesome honor. Words cannot express what I’m feeling inside,” Mallard said. “I pray those who come from a background like mine will believe the best gift they can gave to their families and communities is their willingness to serve and respect them.” Art Force 5 will set up a work area on the second floor of the FLCC Student Center at 3325 Marvin Sands Drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Employees, students and visitors will be invited to color small squares that the troupe will assemble into the final work, an image of Mallard with City Hall in the background. It will be hung on a wall adjacent to the FLCC student lounge. The art project was arranged by Sim Covington, FLCC’s chief diversity officer. “Art Force 5 brings energy and enthusiasm to projects that involve the community and uplift efforts to improve diversity and inclusion,” he said. “We are looking forward to hosting them and recognizing a local civil rights leader in a unique way.” A brief ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. to conclude the project. It is free and open to the public. Art Force 5 was founded at Alfred University in 2006 to inspire creativity over conflict through non-violence workshops and community-based art. More than 200 college students have participated in the group, which recently made a mosaic celebrating the history of Atlanta for the Super Bowl earlier this year. In advance of the visit, Art Force 5 sent the following statement for its mosaic design, which will be cast in FLCC’s school colors of blue and green: “The NAACP button has been added to symbolize her commitment and leadership to the Geneva chapter of the organization. Two stars represent her home in Geneva and workplace in Canandaigua. The Canandaigua City Hall represents her current role within the court system. The mosaic tiles will be painted by the community of FLCC (and admirers of Lucile's work) in appreciation of her dedication to improving the lives and equal rights of those in the region.” For questions about the event, contact Covington at (585) 785-1790.