January 21, 2010

Welcome to Our World

This afternoon ArtStarts celebrated the opening of our newest gallery exhibition: Welcome To Our World. It was a busy day, as young artists, friends, teachers and mentors came to see the display of creative work by students from Port Moody to Greenland. We took so many great photos, we couldn't pick just a few!

Among the visitors were comic strip artists from Lord Roberts Elementary in Vancouver. Their colourful drawings tell stories about their families and communities, as well as their relationships to the Olympic Games.

A multi-media installation intrigued visitors with photos, video, writing and sound recordings. The work comes from children at Strathcona Elementary, who worked with an artist for 18-months, experiencing and documenting their neighbourhood's rich history and vibrant community in a variety of formats.

A series of portraits of First Nations, Metis and Inuit role models also lit up the gallery. This project, entitled Inspired to Soar, instilled in a group of young artists a sense of pride about their cultures. Several of the featured role models were in attendence at the event, including former Vancouver Canucks hockey player Gino Odjick.

Another hit were model houses created by Grade 12 students in Courtenay. The intricate creations were part of a project in which students imagined a world without borders.

There is much more great work to check out at the exhibition. It's open until July 23rd, so please join us! Our gallery hours are posted on our website.