Saskatoon’s Art Placement Gallery features social justice artwork by Grade 8 students

A new and unique art exhibition called ‘I am here. I am human’ is being featured for the next five weeks at Saskatoon’s downtown Art Placement Gallery.

It’s the culmination of a year-long series of projects by North Park Wilson School’s Grade 8 social justice class, the Saskatoon Food Bank, and the Saskatoon Public School Division’s Creative Action program.

Students from across the division applied to get into the special program, according to teacher Seth Peters.

“The Creative Action program is focused on the four main strands of the arts,” Peters explained.

“We do the Grade 8 curriculum so that they’re all ready for high school, of course, but everything is through that lens of either dance, music, drama or the visual arts.”

“The arts are a means to communicate something else,” added teacher Sheryl Salen. “That’s where the social justice hinge comes in. Many of our students come in already passionate about advocacy and making a difference, so then they use that form of arts communication to communicate in another way.”

Over the course of the last year, students in the program volunteered at the Saskatoon Food Bank and interviewed civic leaders, including Mayor Charlie Clark, emergency services personnel, and those who work with the homeless. They they turned their experiences and knowledge into works of art and short skits they performed on opening night, June 28.

Sophie Wall was one of the 28 students accepted into the program. She contributed to one of the art pieces titled the ‘Cart of Hope,’ a shopping cart which included items like shoes, a musical instrument, books, and even a teddy bear.

“It’s kind of filled with things that you might not find, but that people need or enjoy. So it’s filled with things that are not exactly survival, but you still need,” she explained.

Other exhibits included a clay sculpture of a person huddled on the ground. The piece, titled ‘Invisible,’ was created by Maddie Townsend and her peers.

“It kind of looks like it’s blending into the cement. If you’re living on the streets, you’re almost blending into the concrete,” she said.

Other sculptures and pieces of art included the ‘Scales of Poverty,’ and a sculpture by Olive Forrest of a person making it a wish and blowing it away.

Students rehearsing skits based on interviews completed throughout the year. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

“For a lot of people, the reality is that their dreams just physically can’t come true because of circumstances. But, if we work together, we can make people’s wishes come true and make it more fair,” she explained.

Gallery co-owner Levi Nicholat said the exhibition was something he’s wanted to do for a while, and said he was humbled after seeing the students’ creativity and work that’s gone into the exhibit.

“They’re the ones who did all the hard work to create the art, bring it here, install it. I’m just so happy that they’re coming in and activating the space and finding ways to make it more dynamic and more alive with young energy,” he said.

Saskatoon Food Bank volunteer engagement coordinator Erin Berger, who worked with the program’s students on multiple occasions, also worked with Salen and Peters to bring the students’ projects to life in the gallery. She described the students as both caring and concerned.

“They give me hope for a future without poverty. When you see the leadership qualities that they have, and the understanding of the issues, it is incredible. This is proof change is coming.” she said.

The exhibit will be on display until Aug. 5.