(Image credit: Burnaby Art Gallery, https://www.burnaby.ca/)

Ever wonder what the young talents can bring to the community with their art? Burnaby Art Gallery is teaming up with School District 41 for the 43rd year, inviting elementary students from Grade K to 7 to celebrate the pauses and moments of positive awareness in our everyday lives.

Presenting the Arts Alive exhibition, ‘Awesomeology: Gratitude in the Little Things’, inspired by Allie Ward’s “Ologies” podcast episode ‘Awesomeology (Gratitude) with Neil Pasricha,’ students created paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs collaboratively in their classrooms to capture what they think is awesome.

(Image credit: Kitchener Elementary Grade 2/3, Teachers Tania Forbes and Lucia Rinaldo, Burnaby Art Gallery, https://www.burnaby.ca/)

The Artist Apprenticeship program gives Grade 11 and 12 students from SD41 a chance to work closely with professional artists and arts mentors, helping them grow their creative skills and find their own voice. Now in its 17th year, the program ran over nine weeks, giving senior secondary students time to really dive into the theme of “shadows.” Through workshops, studio time, and mentorship, students explored how shadows could represent ideas of transformation, growth, and self-reflection in their own artwork.

(Image credit: Burnaby Art Gallery, https://www.burnaby.ca/)

The young artists experimented with different mediums, techniques, and concepts, challenging themselves to think beyond what they already knew about art. Their final exhibition is a conversation between their work and pieces from the City of Burnaby’s Permanent Art Collection, offering a fresh take on how the past and present can connect through creativity. This show is not just about showcasing talent — it’s about showing the journey each student has taken.

Throughout the year, Burnaby Art Gallery presents exhibitions that challenge and inspire, featuring artists ranging from local talents to internationally recognized names. The artists who show here use a wide range of styles, techniques, and voices to spark conversations about culture, politics, and lived experience. Whether it’s through painting, printmaking, or experimental works, the gallery creates a space where different perspectives meet — and where art pushes us to see the world a little differently.

The two exhibitions run in the Burnaby Art Gallery from May 2-June 1.

For more information, visit: https://ow.ly/6F5u50VwLpB