Hamilton artist-musician sells works to help restock community fridges

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Published January 28, 2022 at 9:40 pm

Earlier this week, the community fridge in Hamilton’s Crown Point neighbourhood was barren — which led to rock musician Tom Wilson telling fans to slide into his DMs to help.

On Friday, Wilson, the Hamilton-raised creative, said on Twitter that he would sell three of his art pieces — intricately painted canoe paddles — as an impromptu fundraiser to buy grocery items for Community Fridges HamOnt. Two days earlier, Community Fridges had shared photos of their east-end Crown Point fridge at 204 Ottawa St. N. with empty shelves. Within 10 hours, after fielding interest through direct messages on his Twitter account, Wilson said his artwork had been sold to buyers from Hamilton to Victoria, and it would be put toward “deliver Thousands of $$$$ of food.”

On Twitter, Wilson wrote, “Let’s continue to give our neighbours a fighting chance.”

Community Fridges HamOnt, which has come into being during the COVID-19 pandemic, has three locations in the city where there is 24/7 access to donate or pick up food and personal items. Along with Crown Point, there is a Hamilton Mountain community fridge at 44 Greendale Dr., off Garth St. just south of the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway. The downtown Beasley neighbourhood also has one at 249 John St. N., steps from Barton Street.

A list of dos and don’ts for donations is pinned to Community Fridges’ Twitter page.

Wilson has been rock performer since the early 1980s, and is known for his solo work, along with being the frontman of the 1990s CanRock band Junkhouse and also being part of roots-rock act Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. His current project, Lee Harvey Osmond, is a collaboration with alumni of the Cowboy Junkies and Skydiggers, who achieved prominence in CanRock in the 1990s.

Along with his music and his art, Wilson is also a writer. His 2017 memoir, “Beautiful Scars,” addressed coming to terms with learning of his Mohawk heritage in his late 40s.

(Cover photo via Twitter/@TomWilsonArt.)

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