Systems of Collision Collaborative Exhibition
Through the pandemic of covid-19, students from Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto and De La Salle in Ottawa have come together to put on a virtual art exhibition showcasing artworks from both school’s grade 11 students. The show titled “Systems of Collision” was virtually curated, organized, and fully realized, by a student committee. The show will open April 5th-25th on Neilson Park Creative Centre’s website, a local gallery in the GTA, as well as be featured on Etobicoke School of the Arts Contemporary Art program website, http://www.esava.ca/systems-of-collision.
Covid 19 has affected the whole world in many different ways. The pandemic has shown that art is not something that can be put aside but a key player in our lives. The internet and social media has been a way to share art globally and has kept people connected in a time of isolation and social distancing. Etobicoke School of the Arts and De La Salle, like many other schools in Ontario, have been in lockdowns on and off since March of 2020. Art schools provide students with materials to harbour their creativity but with the students at home it’s much more difficult to create with the lack of support and resources. With schools partially opening up again last September the art program at Etobicoke School of the Arts was able to get together as a community to make work again and connect with De La Salle and their arts program to put on a virtual gallery show.
Etobicoke School of the Arts and De La Salle come together in one show to present their determination in creating, and to understand art from peers across the province. Art has never been a one person task, so in these times the students pull strength from each other and motivate each other as young artists. Their love for art and creativity is what has caused them to collide in this show that both schools are proud to call their own.
At the beginning of this year Etobicoke School of the Arts put on Portfolio Day, their annual grade 12 show virtually online at http://portfolioday.ca/ for the first time ever and “Systems of Collision” will be their second online endeavour. This is the beginning of exploring and adapting new platforms for creativity as our world is ever changing. The students and community at Etobicoke School of the Arts are not afraid to push for new methods of expression and are excited for what the future holds.
Sylvia Dai + Jayden Couper
From Chloe Stanford, Curator of Systems of Collision: “I have had the honour to take on leadership of this exhibition as a student, and put together this wonderful show! But I could not have done it without the help of my curatorial team. I would like to thank Katrielle Blais-Pennock, Benjamin Krishnar-Haslam, Evelyn Novak, Sylvia Dai, William Bastianon, Sasha Steiner, Viva Egoyan-Rokeby, Jayden Couper, and Teira Pickering. Another very special thank you to my teacher Matthew Varey and to Cory Therrien at Neilson Park Creative Center for helping to make this show possible!”
The exhibition can be viewed by clicking here…
