Student Art Exhibition

On May 8, 2025 the DDSB will hold its fourth annual Student Art Gallery - a district-wide art collection housed in the Education Centre, displaying artworks created and curated by students with staff support.

2025 Opportunity

The theme of the 2025 Student Art Gallery is: 'I Belong Here'.

Through various forms of artistic expression, students in Grades 7 to 12 will contribute to a vibrant and diverse gallery that reflects the importance of belonging, the multitude of ways we find belonging, and how we value and uphold all human rights.

Timelines

March 21: Deadline for digital representations of completed (or nearly completed) artworks should be submitted through this form.

April 9: Selections will be made by the Selection Committee

April 11: Successful artists will be contacted, and arrangements will be made for completed artwork drop-off at the Education Centre (400 Taunton Road East Whitby)

April 25: All artwork must be delivered to the Ed Centre

May 8: Student Art Gallery Opening

A digital gallery hosted on the DDSB website will allow equitable access to these artworks. These artworks will be available after the exhibition opens

Artworks will be on display for approximately 11 months, with an opportunity for the artist to retrieve their artwork following the display period. Artwork unclaimed by the artist will be displayed and/or stored elsewhere within the DDSB system for a period of two (2) years.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee will receive digital copies of artwork and any accompanying stories that the artist would like to submit for consideration and will deliberate to select the artworks to be displayed.

The Committee will be composed of DDSB students, staff, student trustees, and trustees and will include people representing each of DDSB’s geographic zones (north Durham - Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock, Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa)

Creative Brief

Theme: I Belong Here.

The "I Belong Here." art gallery invites students to explore their sense of belonging within our school communities. In alignment with the MYSP, this gallery recognizes the artists’ unique identity and story by affirming environments where students feel a sense of connection, belonging and community.

Artists are encouraged to reflect on how they experience belonging and how they can help others feel like they are an essential part of our school. This exhibit embodies our shared purpose of building trusting relationships, honouring uniqueness, and creating environments where everyone can flourish.

Artists should consider the following questions:

How do you belong here?
What aspects of your identity, culture, experiences, and/or background do you want to highlight in your artwork?
How can your art inspire others to feel more connected and respected in our community?
In what ways does your artwork feature themes of individuality and togetherness?
What symbols, colours, or images make you feel most at home or connected to a place or community?
How do your friendships or relationships with others help you feel like you belong?
If you could show someone through your art what makes you unique, what would you create?

Specifications:

2D artworks need to be designed for display on a hanging track (max. weight of 4 kg). Sculptures will be displayed on a shelf or a plinth.

Artworks will have eye-hooks and hanger wire pre-installed by the artist.

Medium for artworks is at the artist’s discretion (pastel, charcoal, pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, acrylic, oil, photograph, mixed media, digital design, printmaking, 3D art / sculpture, other.)

Artworks composed of dry media (i.e. charcoal, chalk pastel, pencil) will be framed behind glass or sprayed with a fixative.

Maximum size of the framed artwork 18” by 24”.

Artwork may be presented in landscape or portrait orientation.

How to Submit:

Only pieces submitted to this form will be considered. Please follow the link and submit your work on the form. Only one piece of artwork per student will be considered. If you have any questions, please contact: student.art@ddsb.ca

Disclaimer: when submitting artwork for consideration to the Selection Committee, the artist acknowledges that the works may be represented, in whole or in part, in future DDSB promotions and/or curriculum activities at the discretion of the DDSB, credited to the artist.

Artwork Created Using Digital Tools

General Guidelines for Digital Art

Students may submit art that has been created with a DDSB-Approved digital tool, as long as a significant portion of the artwork has been actively created by the student.
Colour/Brightness/Saturation/Contrast correction of digital photographs is acceptable and does not require specific citation.

Students using digital tools must include:

The name of the tool(s).
How it/they were used.
The elements of the piece that were not created by the student (e.g., clip art) or artificially generated.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidelines for Student Art Gallery

The name of the tool used to generate the AI content must be indicated, and the tool must be approved for use in the DDSB.
Students submitting work that has been generated by AI must meet the age requirements according to its terms of use.
All prompts used to generate and refine visual elements must be submitted with the artwork.

Process for Selection

The Selection Committee will collectively review each work submitted.

Based on criteria including overall impression of the art, interpretation and clarity of the theme to the viewer, creativity and originality of the depicted theme, and quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the theme, each selection committee member will select a minimum of 20 works they nominate for display, with the final selection deliberated as a group.

A minimum of one work from each DDSB geographic zone will be displayed: Ajax, Whitby, Pickering, Oshawa, and the North.

The selection process may be subject to change based on the number of submissions received.

If you have any questions, please contact: student.art@ddsb.ca