By Phöenix Kelley
Each year, Salt Spring Arts (SSA) highlights local young talent in their Youth Exhibit presented alongside the annual Spring Art Show. The show provides a meaningful opportunity for creative youth to present their artwork in a public setting in historic Mahon Hall’s Annex Gallery. This year, Home As We Know It features work by beginner photography students at Gulf Islands Secondary School, under the direction of teacher Seb Evans, sharing their visual reflections on home, place and relocation.
The exhibit’s theme reflects and responds to the 2024 Spring Art Show, re:location, curated by Annika Hagen Siemsen. This core exhibition features 18 multidisciplinary, contemporary artists that have delved into personal stories of adapting to life in the Gulf Islands. Their work reflects conceptual studies of identity, the dichotomy of isolation and community, and the impacts of displacement. Drawing inspiration from “re:location,” these young artists developed their first conceptual work to explore their personal relationship to the Gulf Islands as a home, a place of belonging and a place of becoming.
Exhibit facilitator and GISS Photography teacher Seb Evans also has his own artworks featured in “re:location,” and as a creative professional highlighted in this year’s Spring Art Show, he brings a unique perspective to the project both as an educator and exhibiting artist.
“I am really excited to be able to include youth voices in the broader arts community on Salt Spring,” said Evans. “Having access to a space where students can share their voice alongside professional artists is an important part of their development as creatives, and the Youth Exhibit provides that opportunity. It’s been a pleasure to support the development of conceptual based work that digs into the significance of place in shaping identity. In a way, their perspective and vision reflects the varied voices and experiences of our community as a whole. It also helps students to connect their school based work to real world experiences in a powerful way.”
The work of SSA, our island’s arts council of over 55 years, bridges the gap between artists and audiences through joyful and thought-provoking creative connection. An important part of the art council’s mandate is education, specifically for our Island’s youth. The Youth Exhibit provides access for young artists to not only express their creativity, but also showcase their work in a professional environment.
Home As We Know It by GISS Photography is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April 12-28 in the Mahon Hall Annex Gallery, alongside the 2024 Spring Art Show, “re:location,” a multidisciplinary art exhibition. For more information, visit saltspringarts.com.