On May 4th, at the Centre Leonardo da Vinci in St-Léonard, Agnes and André Chatelain, Founders of Painting a New World, along with many generous volunteers, hosted the PNMW Annual event and Awards ceremony, recognizing the quality of the artwork of the participating students and their contribution to a better world.

The main attraction was in the Galleria which richly displayed the selected finalist`s murals, produced by many talented students. Our guests delightfully discovered the artistic talent of the students while being entertained by musicians. In la Piazzetta, our guests had a close look at Africa through paintings produced by African artists of different countries supported by PNMW, as well as paintings produced by Jean-Claude Latour, Agnes and André Chatelain. 

Honorary Guest, The High Commissioner of Kenya in Ottawa, Mr. Simon W. Nabukwesi, with PNMW Ambassador Jane Nyoike were positively impressed (photo 6).  From there everyone was lead to the impressive Mirella and Lino Saputo Theatre where they were enchanted by MC Hailey Laxer (photo 7).

ABOUT HAITI
The 2011 Gift of Art project video followed the welcoming words of Hailey.   

Sophie Germain, Director of l`Association de Développement Notre-Dame de Paillant, made a short presentation on her school and her vigorous work in Haiti. Last year, PNMW had announced that the proceeds of its Annual event would be directed to the aid of Haiti after the earthquake devastation. Sophie`s school in Haiti was chosen to be the beneficiary of the $2,700 raised.

" I congratulate all participants and thank Agnes and Andre for their support to the children of our School Notre-Dame de Paillant and for this invitation. We hope to be part of the project next year. We would also like to make a painting on the walls of the school." Sophie Germain

PRIMARY SCHOOL WINNERS

Congratulations and awards were then announced to the primary schools winners. In photo below, Principals Sheila Honeyborne from St-Lawrence Academy, Erik Olsthoorn from St-Anthony School and Josée Colas from École de l`Épervière, receive their Gift of Art trophy from Mr. Simon Nabukwesi and Jane Nyoike. The students and art teachers were then invited to receive their medals
and prizes.

SECONDARY SCHOOL WINNERS

For the secondary schools, the Principals and representatives of the finalist schools were invited to receive the Gift of Art trophy of the year. The finalists were:

BRAVO !!  to the students and art teachers who received their well deserved medals and prizes:

THANK YOU

Much appreciation and gratitude goes to all the students, teachers and principals of the participating schools:

Quebec:    
St. Thomas High School, Westmount High School, Netagamiou School & CLC in Chevery,
École secondaire Louis-Philippe Paré, Lower Canada College, St-Paul's School in Rivière St-Paul,
James Lyng High School, Loyola High School Art Club, Lakeside Academy, Bialik High School,
École Pierre-Bédard, Macdonald High School, Queen of Angels Academy, École secondaire Lucien Pagé,
École de l'Épervière, École Notre-Dame de Lorette, St-Anthony School, St-Lawrence Academy,
École Martin Bélanger

Manitoba:
Robert H. Smith School, Helen Betty Osborne High School in Norway House

The generous sponsors of The Gift of Art project;
     Encadrements des Cèdres
     Le Groupe Financier de la Banque de Montreal
     Le Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
     Le Ministère de l'Immigration et des communautés culturelles
     Le Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine
     Les photographes Michelle Labonté et Guy Rochette

The sponsors of the creative murals designed by the students;
     Le Club Optimiste de Rigaud
     La Caisse Populaire Ste Geneviève de Pierrefonds
     The Wagner family
     LEARN Quebec
     The Lakeshore Rotary Club International
     The Coaster's association
     The Quebec Labrador Foundation
     The City of Pointe Claire
     St. Anthony Home and School
     Loyola High School
     St. Thomas High School

DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS

The funds raised from The Gift of Art project totalled $15,000. An amount of $7,500 was distributed to the following local projects, chosen by the students and the schools.

Dans la rue's Art Room
Nova West Island Carousel Children's program
Free The Children
Aboriginal School
Saint Columba House
Mural with City of Dorval and elementary school
Netagamiou Art program
CLC projects:  daycare, music, seniors club
MU (Montreal murals)
Saint-Vincent de Paul Society

The balance was directed to the international projects of PNMW in Africa.

Available funds					$7,500
Country	Centre/Group	Artists	Murals	Total
Kenya	Bobea Art Centre
	2 150 $	1 850 $		4 000 $
% of distributed	31%	27%		58%
Kenya	Kiangure Springs
		210	1400	1610
		3%	20%	17%
Chad		500	700	1200
		7%	10%	17%
Guinea		100		100
		1%		1%
Distributed so far	2150	2660	2100	6910
% of available funds	29%	35%	28%	92%
To be distributed					$590
% of available funds					8%

CONCLUSION

The students have the talent and are proud to express it. The teachers and principals are happy to experience the power of art for the benefit of their students and communities locally and internationally. The sponsors of the murals will proudly exhibit the artwork produced through their financial support. Local community projects will benefit from the funds they received from the schools while other communities in Africa will also benefit from the project.

We are proud of our Gift of Art project. It has demonstrated its potential to become the Art project of choice for many schools across Canada for the following years. - Agnes and André Chatelain

TESTIMONIALS

I have to say that I was very impressed with all the talent that exists in our young people, and it was such a great way to celebrate them. Thank you for a wonderful evening, the children really enjoyed themselves and were extremely proud to receive their trophy and medals. They all wore their medals to school the enxt day to show off to everyone ! Thanks so much.
Sheila Honeyborne, Principal, St. Lawrence Jr.

".. what an excellent project it was in terms of children helping children. It allowed for artistic expression that the kids knew was for a greater good, an altruistic cause and they were highly motivated to participate in it."
Michael Cristofaro, Principal, Westmount High School

What a wonderful event ! From the student artwork, to the displays of the african art, to the touching video, the night was a complete success. I am honoured to have been a part of it and I thank you for the opportunity to MC and the experience I gained being on stage and speaking bilingually. My family and I really had a great night !
Hailey Laxer, student of Lower Canada College

We're blessed to have 2 such dedicated and talented artists who inspire the rest of us to use our talents to make the world a better place, one small brush stroke at a time.
Ana Osborne, B.A., TRS, M.A.Ed.

I congratulate all participants and thank the Chatelain for their support to the children of our School Notre-Dame de Paillant and for this invitation. We hope to be part of the project next year. We would also like to make a painting on the walls of the school."
Sophie Germain, Director of l'Association de Developpement Notre-Dame de Paillant in Haiti

We share a vision about the role of Arts in our society and are happy to count your school in ! The contribution will be used in regards to the mural art workshops we offer to teenagers in different Montreal's boroughs. Please forward our deepest and sincere thank-you's to the young artists who put their creativity into that good work !
Emmanuelle Hébert and the whole MU team

On behalf of myself and the art club members, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Gift of Art Mural project. The students worked very hard and spent many hours after school to complete the mural. It is however, important to note that theirs was a labour of love and passion and never a word of complaint was to be heard. I as their supervising educator, felt privileged to give their talents a place to shine.
Anne Vrana, Art teacher, St-Thomas High School

PRIMARY SCHOOLS WINNERS

St-Lawrence Academy, Junior - BRONZE MEDAL
Theme:  How is art present in your community ?

Participants: Aaliyah Tompson, Massimo Pugliese, Taylor Greenwood Ng, Ashraj Riar, Jessica Reis, Natalia Gojtan,
Sim Kornkanok, Alessandro Cocchianell, Skylar Smith, Laura Di Sciullo, Adriano Stirpe, Jenelle Campagne
Art Teacher:  Audrey Lan

In our project we see children painting on huge canvasses set on easels. What can also be seen is that these children are painting themselves. Furthermore, one will also notice that the "painted children" are holding hands across the canvasses.

This signifies how art brings people together.

As one of these unifying ideas, the Senior school art teacher and I came together to orchestrate a huge art exposition
(the 'Art-Expo') for the first time last year. The Art-Expo was the accumulation and presentation of the year's work of each of our students, where they explored many art techniques and became familiar with the works of an array of great artists. Not only did this Art-Expo allow children and adults alike to appreciate and learn about art, but it also served as a fun and connecting experience for this community.

As an art teacher, this proved to be a truly motivating and gratifying experience. - Audrey Lan

St-Anthony School - SILVER MEDAL
Theme:  The Grade 4 Peace Tree - To promote a peaceful and caring community

Participants:  St Anthony School, Grade 4 and Grade 1 students
Teacher:  Jeanette Klein Ritchie

Our choice of a Peace Tree was inspired by the Kenyan woman, Wangari Maathai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Another tree, the Tree of Peace created by the Iroquoian artist, Samuel Thomas, further inspired us. The work combines Iroquois and African beading techniques and is a collaboration by diverse communities in North America and Kenya.

The grade four students outlined their own hands on recycled papers. Our 'buddies' in grade one, with whom we do arts and crafts projects, added their hands. These are not only the leaves of our tree but also these leaves symbolize our helping hands.

The leaves of our Peace Tree are animals of the Boreal Forest Region that we inhabit. This is the International Year of the Forest, and we should be mindful of the fact that we are guardians of one of the most valuable large-scale ecosystems left on Earth, the world's largest store of fresh water.

The butterfly was used as a symbol of hope during the Holocaust and now we include our own as a symbol of hope for the suffering of the people in Japan. Participating in the Painting a New World project is a part of our 'Peaceful Schools' initiative in which we endeavour to teach our students about responsible citizenship and different paths to empowering and supporting people in their own communities, near and far, to achieve long term goals and to aid in a crisis. - Jeanette Klein Ritchie

École de l'Épervière - GOLD MEDAL
The theme is that by bringing an emphasis on the importance of culture in our society,
we can change the world !

Participants:  Megan Sabourin, Chloé Dickson, Anaïs Campopiano, Camille Deschamps, Ashley Dres, Angélik Valiquette,
Marie-Jane Caron, Viviane Latour
Teacher:  Josée Colas

Children at the heart of Africa shine in the sun. A girl sitting at the feet of her mother who tenderly braids her hair is doing her daily reading, with the sounds of the djembe and the singing of the ladies from the fruit market. The sun represents hope, light, heat from all the hearts singing in harmony the song of culture, in unison.  Together, inevitably, they will carry their message of hope through their grooves.

This work was carried out using three mediums, that are collage, plaster and acrylic paint. The realization was done in three important steps. The collage creates texture, plaster further accentuates the volume, and painting brings unity to the whole work.
Josée Colas

SECONDARY SCHOOLS WINNERS

École secondaire Louis-Philippe Paré - BRONZE MEDAL

Participants: Noémie Plante, Jeanne Marquis, Sophie Mercedes Poirier, Sabrina Saad, Béatrice Leclerc, Molly Reid,
Delphine Groleau, Camille Préfontaine
Teacher:  Virginie Théoret

We see that in the giant head, there are tons and tons of ideas and they overflow to  the outside to reach and expose the ideas represented by patterns like the wind, which is a symbol of freedom. Several ideas come from the mouth, which is freedom of speech and singing.

Our African or Haitian gives us the impression that she is a person open to the world around her, ready to explore and open up. It's the earth in the eye of the character that represents this opening and gives full meaning to the canvas.

What a wonderful means of opening to the world through art. What unites us all as inhabitants of the earth is art.

The bright colours of the African profile compared to the background represent the role of art in their lives, which for some people is the only way they have to express themselves. Art is for them the light of life. - Virginie Théoret

Queen of Angels Academy - BRONZE MEDAL
This mural depicts a mandala.

Participants:  Serena Desaulniers, Sabrina Evans, Nina Allen, Jessica Tardif, Melissa Tardif, Kiana Tom, Jade Dexter
Art Teacher:  Lisa Kimberly Glickman

Many different cultures throughout history have made mandalas; this example is inspired by the Tibetan version, depicting four gates standing for the four cardinal directions. In the center is a stylized Dhama Wheel. The mandala also includes a stylized layering of the lotus flower, a very important symbol in many Eastern arts, symbolizing enlightenment. In the centre of the mandala there are two images of the Venus of Willendorf, the oldest known scullpture alternating with Cycladic Idols. This is followed by representations of spiritual beings, deities, and creatures from different cultures: two from western Canada - the Moon from the Haida and the Eagle from the Tingit, an Inuit owl; a Buddha; a Shiva and a Ganesh from the Hindu tradition; a Gargoyle stading for medieval European Christianity; Anubis and Horus from ancient Egypt; and a Chinese dragon. The third layer of a mandala is made up of religious symbols from different cultures - a Celtic Cross, a Magen-David, an Ankh, a Sikh Khanda, a Jain open palm, a Japanese Shinto, an Islamic Crescent Moon, a yin-yang, a Huichol  Snake, and an Om. In the border are mythical creatures, demi-gods, and an angel.

The mandala is enclosed by a chain of DNA. We are trying to show that all humanity is linked by the need to express spirituality in visual forms, and that art is essential to civilization. We are the only creatures who feel this need, and have the ability to create such imager; most of the images portrayed in our mural do not exist in nature and have been invented to represent ideas and emotions felt by human beings. - Lisa Kimberly Glickman

St. Thomas High School - SILVER MEDAL
Theme: Cultural art in society

Participants:  Jessica Hill, Emma Awe, Snayha Patel, McKenzie Emerick, Sabrina Asseraf, Luxsaa Sinnathurai,
Anastassia Tangredi, Tammie Waters
Art Teacher:  Anne Novak

The Cultural Art in  Society mural aims to represent how art is expressed through different world cultures. Each segment of the inner circle or mandala, a ritualistic geometric design symbolic of the universe represents a different culture and period in the history of man.

Represented is art from prehistoric times through indigenous art, to the modern Irish symbol of the red rose. The representations show how the role of art in society from the beginning of human kind wa used as a means of expression, communication and beauty.

On the exterior of the mandala the students chose eto represent art within the universe. They used symbols of planets, meteors, stars and the Northern Lights to show how nature is in itself an expression of art.

Art within nature is a sours of inspiration for art created by humans. - Anne Novak

Lower Canada College - GOLD MEDAL
Theme:  The Role of Art in Society

Participants:  Alanna Chang, Amanda Etingin, Diana Kouli, Lindsey Perlman, Emily Even, Isabelle Thibault, Lauren Deckelbaum
Art Teacher:  Ian E.M. Griffiths

We have produced a vibrant mosaic of symbolic images that will hopefully speak to all people regardless of language, gender and ethnicity. The birds in flight represent the freedom and liberating power that the arts can awaken in everyone. The purity of artistic expression is concentrated in a single drop of water, creating the splash which sends ripples gendly undulating to every corner of the globe. Doves, carrying the messages of freedom and understanding, soar above poverty, suffering, prejudice and fear to unite humanity in a future of endless possibilities. - Ian E.M. Griffiths

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