Sit down with Canada-based artist Richard Pace as we discuss what the Lower Your Sights project means to him, his contribution to the anthology, and his thoughts on the unifying power of art.

Q: What does this project mean to you?
Richard: This project offered the opportunity to have a place to put all those terrible feelings I
experienced seeing a country being devastated by a neighbouring tyrant. I’d previously
donated some money to a few relevant charities, but this felt like helping in telling the story for
others to learn from.

Q: What is your contribution to Lower Your Sights? (Short Story, Pinup, Etc.)
Richard: I turned Jim’s story into comics pages – drawing and colouring them. It was a beautiful story with, honestly, more hope in it than I was feeling when I started.

Q: In addition to supplying food and essential supplies, Voices of Children also provides art therapy to help kids cope and overcome the stress, anxiety, and trauma of living in war conditions. Do you believe art has the power to heal?
Richard: I do. I know making art helped me deal with the stress and anxiety around the pandemic, as well as helping me deal with the horror in watching this war unfold. I know there have been stories and art by others that helped me in dealing with other experiences and losses.