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David Nielsen and his chosen piece at Artwalk. CCSD PHOTO<\/p>\nFor the 30th year, curated art representing schools and students across Calgary has connected students and highlighted the invaluable work of art teachers.<\/p>\n
Artwalk, a Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) tradition celebrating its 30-year anniversary, invites schools to select one piece of student artwork for display on the walls of the Catholic School Centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David Nielsen, a Bishop O\u2019Byrne High School visual arts teacher, who has taught in the CCSD for more than 25 years, said that recent year\u2019s displays have been extra special.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 30 years ago, they started sending picture frames to all the schools, saying, \u2018Select a piece that\u2019s going to fit in the frame and send it to us.\u2019 So, we\u2019d select one kid\u2019s piece that would go down to the central office downtown, and then they would take all of the frames and the pictures, and then they would put them in the central office, which they still do,\u201d he told LWC.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, they\u2019ve added another layer to it where they make digital copies of the pieces, and they frame them, and they put them all together as a gallery, and they have them down at St John\u2019s (Centre for Arts and Culture).\u201d<\/p>\n
Nielsen said that before the walk, which was open Monday evening, the district invites families to come down and celebrate their child\u2019s artwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis may all seem like small potatoes, but it\u2019s so cool for these kids to walk in there and see their art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a high school teacher, so I try to put in stuff that is art with a capital A and really try and highlight the strength of my program, something that\u2019s absolutely all killer, no filler.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of this year\u2019s submission, Nielsen challenged his students to create a series of 20 Andy Warhol-inspired self-portraits. The piece chosen for Artwalk struck him because of its immense depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those pieces where you look at it, you\u2019re like, \u2018That\u2019s really cool,\u2019 and then you look at it, then you start kind of digging in a little deeper. And there\u2019s this super strong message,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
David Nielsen and his chosen piece at Artwalk. CCSD PHOTO<\/p>\n
As a large school district, rarely can an event unite the CCSD community, Nielsen said. Because of the nature of showcasing hundreds of student-made artworks, Artwalk is an exception.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rare that our 120 schools come together at all, and this is one of the few ways where everyone comes together and everyone who\u2019s involved in this thing gets a chance to be celebrated and it\u2019s like a big part of our climate and culture,\u201d Nielsen said.<\/p>\n
Artwalk also bridges the gap to students for CCSD staff and admin who may not work directly in a school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they see the work that kids made on the walls, they\u2019re reminded of what they\u2019re doing there. The only art that\u2019s on the walls in the central office is kids\u2019 art and that\u2019s a hugely important reminder to them,\u201d Nielsen said.<\/p>\n
In recent years, arts education has been under scrutiny, according to Nielsen. As an art teacher himself, he said that oftentimes art can be a sanctuary for students of all ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking about my own career, my art room has been open at lunch every day for 16 years. Kids come in there, they eat their lunch, they love knowing that there\u2019s this place where they can go, they can be with their friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some kids, it\u2019s the gym, and for other kids, it\u2019s science. For my kids, it\u2019s the art world.\u00a0 We need creativity in the world, and the Artwalk is a piece of the larger mission that we need creative thinkers because it\u2019s the creative thinkers that are going to help us solve problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
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