Elementary Art Workshops and Fair Popular
Approximately 320 elementary students from 20 schools filled Piccadilly Mall to take part in workshops with local artisans, which is a very popular part of the annual K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw SD83 Elementary District Art Fair, which runs from February 7-14.
On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, participating students worked with local artists, Knowledge Keepers, an Indigenous helping teacher, and retired teachers. These workshops offer students a chance to explore the possibility of pursuing arts as a career, while learning about different cultures, artistic styles, and techniques.
Throughout the day, there were 10 different workshop stations, with each artist hosting four one-hour sessions. The sessions included: loom beading with Diane Jewell, Japanese calligraphy with Eiko Ukehara, portrait drawing with Terry Greenhough, block printing with Christine Kashuba, pottery (two stations) with Catherine Auten, Darryl Auten, or Stephen Plant, a wood project with Kayla Vannieuvenhuizen, lantern-making with Tina Lepine, cross-stitching with Judy Surkon, and monster headbands with Patty Mead.
For the past two years, high school students from Salmon Arm Secondary, organized by Jocelyn Wohlford, have assisted with setup and supported the artists and students during the sessions. This year, Jocelyn recruited 13 other volunteers, including a Grade 11 student who will take over for her next year, as Jocelyn is graduating. “I’ve really enjoyed it,” she shared. Kirsten Mazur, who organizes the Art Fair with Corrinne Langston, expressed her appreciation for the leadership students. “They are an enormous help as they are very keen, which leaves the coordinators more time to supervise and troubleshoot.”
Both 2-D and 3-D student-created art pieces are on display throughout the mall, creating an exciting art event that families and seniors eagerly anticipate. Langston shared that she an individual at the art fair on February 12 who was visiting from Kamloops and happened to come across the event while at the mall. The individual expressed how excited she was to “stumble across this free art event”. She also praised the art fair as a wonderful community-building partnership. The individual shared how much she values art education and the opportunities it provides for students to learn outside of the classroom environment.
This event is a celebration of the amazing student art and the enriching educational opportunities available in SD83. It has been running for many years now with Langston and Mazur, two SD83 principals, organizing it for the past 11 years. This was their final art fair as the two are passing along the reins to three new people, Allison de Boer (District Early Learning VP), Laura Tomlinson (VP at M.V. Beattie), and Mishel Quaal (Principal at M.V. Beattie).
This year’s art fair was held a few weeks earlier than usual, as it is typically in March. Langston and Mazur, the school principals at Ranchero and Grindrod, respectively, commented that the new dates received positive feedback. Educators appreciated that the event no longer conflicted with report writing time, facilitators found it a good time since they have fewer commitments in February, and the public enjoyed having an indoor outing to attend during the winter months.