Bringing Together Passions and Action: Our Story
In 2023 and 2024 Lunenburg County saw a drastic rise in hate motivated vandalism.
Artists were challenged as they were unable to cover these hate motivated symbols without permission, as it would still be considered vandalism. Organizations were challenged as they did not have a network to artists to give permissions, nor the funding to compensate artists for this work. This meant straining our already overworked public servants to continuously cover over hate vandalism, or artists taking risks covering the hate vandalism.
People in Lunenburg County felt frustration in a situation where it felt like hate was flourishing – BUT creativity can be born from necessity, and blooms always find a way to flourish.
Enter a number of caring folks. After conversations of desired action, and brainstorming system solutions, a group of people got together to solve this problem. We realized we needed a living bridge—a structure capable of connecting the raw energy of artistic will with the permission and resources required for safe, meaningful change. This sparked Rural Artists Against Hate, a non-profit organization to support our community to transform this hate into beauty.
The creation of RAAH was not a sprint, but a careful sculpting, taking place over six months from April to November 2025. We moved with the intention of an artist layering paint—slowly, deliberately, ensuring every layer was stable.
This was a period of defining our own foundation: formally incorporating the organization, shaping our policies, and engaging in deep, necessary conversations about how RAAH would authentically show up for the community. We committed ourselves not just to a cohesive vision, but to the mission that gives it breath: to meet hate with beauty.
We find meaning in acting with intention, trusting that a slow, reflected pace ensures our shared purpose is unwavering. RAAH is the deliberate, organized uprising of beauty against hate—a promise that the marks on our public spaces will become lasting expressions of unity, resilience, and light.
Rural Artists Against Hate 