Sherway Garden Expands Student Art Show
Earlier this month, Sherway Gardens was home to hundreds of pieces of student art for the 17th annual Smart Start Student Art Show. Over 100 local high school students from across the Greater Toronto Area participated, showcasing their drawings, mixed media, paintings, printmaking, sculptures and photography.
It’s an art show, and it’s also more than that. In the midst of the exhibition was the Arts Symposium Event, which gave teachers and students the chance to participate in a mini-conference for the arts. Professional artists held arts and creativity workshops, and both teen and professional artists led discussion groups. Students also had the chance to participate in one-on-one critiques with the pros to help them improve their craft.
Throughout the show, visitors could check out the Smart Start Learning Centre as well, observing and engaging with art in new ways, learning about the creative process and participating in interactive activities. They could also put down their votes for the People’s Choice Awards, which aims to give students positive feedback about their work.
“Sherway Gardens is committed to arts development and understands the importance of providing these talented students with the opportunity to publicly exhibit their work,” states Lisa Resnic, senior marketing director for the center. “We are proud to host Arts Etobicoke’s annual Smart Start Student Art Show.”
This year, the show added two brand new elements. The first made the show significantly more inclusive, as Arts Etobicoke reached out to at-risk and homeless youth. Working with youth organizations, Arts Etobicoke arranged to display the work of teens who were not necessarily enrolled in the high-school system and therefore otherwise able to participate.
Also for the first time this year, the organizers arranged for a number of the students’ works to go on tour, travelling to the atrium of the Toronto Western Hospital for the benefit of patients, their families, staff and caregivers.
