Painted reflections on what matters most to Wells-Barkerville Elementary students are currently on display at Island Mountain Arts (IMA).
It’s the latest exhibit at the public gallery in Wells, which is also featuring self-portraits and Ukrainian Easter eggs known as pysanky by the 18 kindergarten to Grade 7 students.
In addition to their three art pieces, the young students wrote an artist statement which was a first for many. Staff wrote down a verbal artist statement from students still learning to write.
“They really enjoyed it,” said head teacher Helen Hogeterp. “They liked how their project came out.”
IMA artistic executive director Elyssia Sasaki notes there has been a longstanding relationship between IMA and Wells-Barkerville Elementary to have student work displayed.
She believes art is one of the most important ways to connect with ourselves and others.
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The acrylic canvases by the student artists exploring the theme of what matters most run a gamut from video game characters to their parents.
“One of the things that I love about doing this art show and working with the school is that the educators do a really good job letting the kids find whatever the theme means to them without being too descriptive of what the artwork needs to look like,” Sasaki said.
“It’s an important part of development for the kids to get to be able to explore things that matter to them…but it’s also really special for the community to be able to see what kids are thinking about because often there’s a lot of wonderful and valuable insight in that.”
The school show will close with a reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 28.
IMA’s next exhibition beginning Thursday, May 5, will feature linocut prints by Yukon artist Martha Ritchie.
Read More: Quesnel artists display an eclectic of work at Quesnel Art Gallery
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: rebecca.dyok@quesnelobserver.com
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