Claudia Alick started Why Mask in 2023 as an artistic intervention for COVID accessibility in public and private spaces. We created a digital gallery where models add themselves to the project with mask selfies and mask testimonials. This digital gallery is inspiring to explore and easy to add yourself to. We have produced Why Mask PPE stations at Art Galleries. We also have visited theaters and galleries and invited them to install paintings of masked people with the QR code. We made QR stickers that can be placed near entrances or other locations that inspire people to mask.
Claudia Alick printed stickers to a location in Chicago for a Why Mask installation performance at the TCG Conference. Our artist committed to helping to pick them up had to drop due to a flare. Jesse Alick agreed to pick up the stickers and share them to other people at the conference. The invitation was to help the idea of masking go viral by inviting each person to take a few stickers and share them with others with the same invitation. The photos really tell the story and the precautions being taken to keep the space accessible to all…and the lack of.