2009 Canadian Art School Hop: A Stimulating Experience for Students
Students with artist Gunilla Josephson and faciliator Pamila Matharu / photo Alia Toor
Canadian Art’s spring School Hop introduced Toronto-area public high school students to contemporary visual art in association with Images Festival in three days of tours through the historic 401 Richmond arts building in Toronto on April 2, 7 and 8, 2009.
The days began in the lobby of 401 Richmond, where students were introduced to the program and the facilitators, and given a free sketchbook and free Canadian Art magazine.
The four artist facilitators—Carla Garnet, Pamila Matharu, Andrew Harwood and David Donaldson—led students on tours of galleries and artist-run centres throughout the building, where students saw and discussed video, film and new media artwork, presented as part of the Images Festival. Artists were on hand to introduce students to their own work. “It was very well organized…they were very sweet kids from all kinds of cultures,” says artist Gunilla Josephson, whose video installation E.V.E. Absolute Matrix students experienced at Trinity Square Video. “At first they were shy, but when we looked at the work together and talked about it, they began to ask questions. And when I pointed out the difference between television and video art, they became more interested. It was a positive experience.”
Other highlights of this year’s hop included tours of Deanna Bowen’s Shadow on the Prairie, which is based on a 1952 film adaptation of Gwyneth Lloyd’s Shadow on the Prairie: A Canadian Ballet, and June Pak and Louise Noguchi’s exhibition Somewhere, which was introduced by June Pak.
A student at the spring 2009 Canadian Art School Hop / photo Alia Toor
“The spring hop was stimulating for students,” says hop co-ordinator Alia Toor. “Art that uses video, new media and photography challenges students to ask, ‘What is art?’ Especially since most high school art is still taught through a formal lens. Many students documented what they saw with their cameras, their phones. That was fascinating.”
Thanks to its donors, the Canadian Art School Hop has grown over the past two years to a total of seven days and two events per year. Now in its eighth year, the School Hop is a free program designed to complement visual arts education in Toronto’s secondary schools.
The Canadian Art Foundation gratefully acknowledges the sponsors of the spring School Hop: CIBC, the Ontario Arts Foundation and Gerald Sheff and Shanitha Kachan.
Students at the spring 2009 Canadian Art School Hop / photo Alia Toor
