Zainab Al-Mehdar
Shawville May 13, 2022
Hoping to make it an annual exhibit, Pontiac High School (PHS) eighth and ninth graders’ art is currently on display at Café 349 until early July.
When Nancy Dagenais-Elliott, exhibit coordinator, got in touch with PHS art teacher Jadwiga Dunin-Borkowska and suggested . . .
her student’s art be displayed, she jumped at the idea.
Dunin-Borkowska felt it was great not only to give her students a morale boost but a sense that their art was important. “And it makes me proud. I’m proud of their work,” said Dunin-Borkowska.
There are about 30 pieces hung at the cafe. Dunin-Borkowska pointed out that the pieces she chose were ones where students followed the rules of composition and things that she has taught them in class, but also ones that show the students raw talent. The art displayed is a representation of just some of the talent from the high school as not everything gets handed in or some students take their work home she noted, and so there is so much more she could have displayed.
Community members can expect to see watercolour, acrylic or pencil drawings. “We do so many different projects at all different levels, that there really isn’t a running theme in my teachings,” said Dunin-Borkowska.
The Equity talked to some of the students who shared what inspired some of their pieces.
Gray-Charette Mankala, an eighth grader, explained that she did her piece during the height of covid and felt alone and isolated from her peers, and through her piece, she expressed those moments of disconnection and also chose to add details to represent the people that were there for her.
“It made me feel very happy, its the second time that I’ve gotten to see my art displayed in the cafe and it’s very exciting to see you know, my art piece being recognized in that type of way, and if I could have that happen more often,” she said.
For Mankala, she has been doing art since she was 11 and hopes she can pursue it as a career one day.
Others enjoy making art for fun, like Emma Feenstra, whose painted the sunset overlooking the coast. She was exploring themes of tranquillity and peace. She too thought it was fun to have her piece displayed as it was her first one.
For Mackenzie Mckenny, she made a sunflower, a replica of one in her home made by her mother, and initially made it to give to her mom on Mothers Day.
Many of the kids were simply excited their pieces were chosen to be displayed, and although most expressed that it was more of a hobby they also expressed it was nice to have their pieces chosen.
Dunin-Borkowska hopes the community gets to enjoy the art currently being displayed, but also that students go out and see their work as she mentioned many didn’t see it last year.
“Once they’re framed and all hanging on a wall they look quite snazzy, all of them are fantastic in my opinion,” Dunin-Borkowska said with a huge grin on her face.
