Mail Art is an avant-garde movement that started in Italy in the 1960s and quickly spread throughout the world. The artists who invented it discovered that the postal system could be used to distribute and disseminate art everywhere and forever.
The impact of the Internet on 21st-century society changed things a bit, communication became digital and the postal system gradually lost its role. However, mail art has never completely disappeared, as this year’s “Couriers of Hope”, an initiative of the Port City Creative Guild in Long Beach, California, shows.

Port City Creative Guild (PCCG) is the brain behind the “Couriers of Hope” project, an initiative of Creative Class – the non-profit arm of the multicultural agency Intertrend.

This year the PCCG brought together 10 local Long Beach galleries and engaged 90 artists in a new creative project. Participants created original works with the theme of “hope” and used envelope letters as a medium instead of a canvas.
This request is a tribute to Mail Art, but also a reminder of the importance of connection in all its forms. “Couriers of Hope” was created to promote the value of art, raise awareness of arts organizations and connect young people to their communities. Combining all these aspects thus becomes an opportunity to bring art and education together.

The completed works have not yet been sent by post, but collected for an art exhibition on display from 19 January to 28 February 2021 at the Psychic Temple of the Holy Kiss in Long Beach and virtually at this link.

Take a quick look at some of the creations here, visit the online exhibition and bid to win the most beautiful work.

Words by Federica Cimorelli