Art Gallery of Hamilton rallies kids to turn Jamesville construction site into art

The Art Gallery of Hamilton and CityHousing Hamilton are teaming up with students from a couple of North End elementary schools for a special project around the Jamesville construction site.

It’s called the Jamesville Community Art Project and roughly 1,000 kids from two different schools will help make the construction site a little prettier.

Twelve-year-old Emily Notdorft loves art.

“I like drawing, animating is fun as well, and when I’m older I’m hoping to animate a Disney movie or something,” said Notdorft.

Over the next few months, Notdorft and her classmates at Bennetto Elementary School will be working on a special art project for the Jamesville construction site.

“I really want to be part of that, because I’ve lived close to that project and all the houses just got knocked down, and before we were going to do this, I always thought that it needed something to brighten it up,” said Notdorft.

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“My students are excited about turning that site into something positive and something visually appealing for the community,” said Elspeth Daley, a teacher at Bennetto Elementary School. “Most of our students live in this neighbourhood so they walk past it everyday, they know the site, they have seen it before.”

“We’re so excited to be partnering with CityHousing Hamilton and we are thrilled to be inviting both St. Lawrence and Bennetto to be a part of the project,” said Sara Dickinson, with the Art Gallery of Hamilton. “Up to 1,000 kids will be involved in creating an outdoor art gallery that will be run along the fence-line of the Jamesville development.”

Students from St. Lawrence Catholic Elementary School will also be taking part in the art project.

“Every time we walk past it, like when we go to food basics, you would see it and it was kinda sad, because there’s homeless people right outside and that place could have been used,” said Maya Mulwanda, a young artist.

“I think it’s important for them, because it really is a celebration of hope in this community, it celebrates the diversity and it gives them a chance to express the dignity of every person through art,” said Carolyn Varrasso, the Principal at St. Lawrence Catholic Elementary School.

Each class at the two schools will work with local artists to highlight unique stories, history, and legacy of the Jamesville neighbourhood.

“We are going to be partnering with an indigenous artist to make a piece art to enjoy their culture and learn about it,” said Mulwanda

“I’m looking very forward to it, because I get to learn about a new style of art, new ways that people used to do it, or ways that they do it now,” said Adalynn Smith, a young artist.

Grade 7 students Mulwanda and Smith say they are proud to be part of a project that brings light and happiness to their neighbourhood through art.

“I think it’s nice, because it helps us get stronger as a community, doing something together to help other people,” said Mulwanda.

“I believe it’s a good way to express feelings and emotions, and sometimes when I’m stressed, I like to do art because it makes me feel a lot better,” said Smith.

Over the next few months, the students will work on their art pieces and sometime in the late winter or early spring, the students’ art work will be proudly displayed on the fence outside of the construction zone.

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