Expressions 33:
A Celebration of Student Art from the Waterloo Region

March 29 - May 4, 2008

Christine Au-Yeung (Grade 3 at time of Expressions 32 exhibition), Northlake Woods Public School, Waterloo, Underwater Cut Paper (detail), 2006, paper collage. Photo: K.J. Bedford.

Each spring, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery transforms into a space filled with multiple ideas about the world.  Expressions, this annual exhibition of students' artwork from the Waterloo Region, offers a glimpse into the various and varying worlds seen and experienced by young people in our community.

Expressions explores how we express our common interests and ideas through art.  A vibrant and diverse assortment of student work, combined with examples from KW|AG's Permanent Collection, encourages discussions about identity, home, memories, stories, language, society, the environment, discovery, and innovation.  This year's exhibition extends these themes and contributes to how we interpret the words Link (ourselves and our communities), Alive (animals and the earth), Once (stories and memories), and Aha! (discovery and innovation) as they are expressed and reflected in the art and every day lives of young people.  Once again, we will exhibit student work alongside professional artists' work from KW|AG's Permanent Collection, which are selected to illustrate common interests and perspectives within each theme.

Installation view of Expressions 33. Image courtesy of KW|AG. Photo: K.J. Bedford.

With each year of Expressions, the Gallery aspires to highlight and contribute to the work of educators who bring art into the every-day lives of their students.  We are proud to continue partnerships with the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board; we value our role as a community resource and as an advocate for the arts in education.  Art is a medium for shared experience.  Art opens minds and encourages observation, discussion, and reflection; we believe these qualities are the foundation for the kind of teaching, leaning, and relationship-building essential to creating a strong and healthy community.