Student art exhibition comes to successful conclusion
Trinity College School visual arts students had the chance to experience first-hand the process of mounting an exhibition of their work as the School collaborated on what is hoped to be the first annual student art exhibition at Port Hope’s Little Station Gallery.
In collaboration with Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art, students in the Grade 11 Media Arts course (ASM3M) presented You Never Step In The Same River Twice, a juried exhibition of works curated by TCS faculty member, Ms. Sally McKay-LePage. This was the first installation this year to be staged in the gallery, which was once an abandoned historic train station. Critical Mass, a local non-profit arts organization, worked to move the station to Lent Lane, in the downtown core, with plans to use the facility to further its mission of promoting and supporting local contemporary art.
Launched on April 13th in conjunction with Youth Week, You Never Step In The Same River Twice wrapped up with a closing reception and panel presentation on Thursday, May 2nd. Approximately 40 people attended the event, including Gallery Director Debbie Beatty and many of the volunteer curators, artists and art supporters from Critical Mass, who are dedicated to bringing contemporary art experiences to Port Hope. Members of the local community joined our students for the event, including Port Hope council member Vicki Minck, who spoke with many of the students, and TCS faculty members Ms. Jessie Ironside, Ms. Krista Koekkoek and Ms. Jennifer Paziuk.
During the presentation, each student spoke for a few minutes about their work, stating their intent for the work, describing how the work related to the “Ephemera” theme and explaining what materials they chose to work with and why. Ms. Beatty later commented, “The students exceeded our expectations in the execution of their installation project and delivered their panel discussion last night with poise.”
Thank you to Critical Mass and the Little Station Gallery for providing students with the opportunity to see their work from inception through to hanging in a public gallery. This was a fantastic enrichment opportunity for our students. Thank you also to faculty and staff members who visited the gallery during the exhibit and who have provided wonderful feedback. Finally, thank you to Teresa Tapscott, from the TCS culinary services team, for baking dozens of delicious cookies for the reception! They were a big hit amongst the gallery-goers.
We are very excited to announce this exhibition is being planned as a yearly event, and all parties are looking forward to collaborating on future projects.