To help Montrealers through these dark times, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is offering online art therapy lessons through its Facebook page.The activities will go up every Friday.

The MMFA is doing its best to keep us occupied during this surreal moment in history. It’s just one of a few institutions in the city that has moved its activities online so that residents can enjoy them from the comfort and safety of their own homes. In addition to free virtual tours, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is now offering at-home art therapy.

Each therapy activity is designed by MMFA Art Therapist Stephen Legari.

“The key is to focus on the pleasure of creating. Try not to judge or analyze what you’re doing — it’s about enjoying the process,” he explains.

“So, turn off the news, take some time for yourself, and relax.”

The first art therapy activity, posted to the museum Facebook page, asks participants to “think of someone you’d like to send some encouraging words to” and create a postcard using “inspiring materials as basic as a piece of paper and pencil.”

At-home artists are then instructed to “take a photo of the card with your phone and send it to the person virtually.”

Participants can share pictures of their work on social media with the hashtag #SpreadArtNotVirus.