Kawartha Art Gallery announces return of annual juried student exhibition

A tradition for over 20 years, the Kawartha Art Gallery annual juried student exhibition is back! The exhibition is on now at KAG, which is located on the second floor of the Lindsay Public Library (190 Kent Street West, Lindsay Ontario). Admission is free or by donation.

The exhibition is a huge opportunity for all high school students in the City of Kawartha Lakes and within the Trillium Lakelands District School Board, and is one of our most anticipated exhibitions of the year. The students’ work span a variety of media and include representations of landscape, everyday objects, loved ones, belonging and identity. This exhibition provides an exciting opportunity to showcase the wide variety and high quality of artwork created by our area high school students.

Artwork submissions were selected by the art teachers with all work to be done for a course in visual arts within the current academic year. There was no limit on the number of students or grade level from each high school who may participate, with a maximum of two pieces of original work per student, in any media, including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, mixed media, fibre arts, and digital art. The student artworks were selected by an external juror, with the juror providing constructive comments and suggestions for acknowledging and building on the students’ skill sets. This year we were delighted to work with juror Anders Widjedal.

“While I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the work, judging the exhibit was difficult,” said Widjedal. “How does one judge an exhibit like this? When I taught as an art teacher, I could give everyone a mark but with an award-based juried exhibit, there is not that possibility. There were so many great pieces. So much talent. So many great ideas and concepts – so many stories, and even if a student was not the recipient of an award this time, I encourage all to continue to explore and create. Speaking from many years of personal experience participating in the Student Juried Exhibit, it means a lot to get recognition and encouragement and I would like to thank the community for their donor support for this exhibit. I encourage all to come out and see this exhibit and celebrate the talented youth of our area.”

In addition to numerous lead and award sponsors, two special bursaries will be given to students at a special reception later in March. The Helene Barker Memorial Bursary Award is given to the student whose work is considered to be the highest achievement in the exhibit. Helene Baker was a founding member of the Kawartha Art Gallery, and a lifelong proponent of the arts. The Brenda Milner Memorial Bursary Award is presented to a Grade 12 student going into post-secondary studies in visual arts. Brenda Milner taught basic drawing, watercolour and mixed media for over 30 years through Fleming Colleges campuses and at the Kawartha Art Gallery.

The Annual Juried Student Exhibition runs from March 5 through March 30, 2024, and can be viewed during the KAG’s operating hours of 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information, please visit
kawarthagallery.com.