Youth soars high and wins Canadian Aboriginal Arts Challenge

A 17-year-old youth from the Gift Lake Métis Settlement was among those honoured at the 7th Annual Canadian Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge gathering held at Toronto’s Design Exchange on June 6.

“They called me during school hours. I had to write an exam. I was shocked. I didn’t think I would win,” said Taylor Thom, who won the Arts Challenge for her piece Soar Again.

Being honoured at the awards ceremony, which was attended by such well known Aboriginal artists as Joseph Boyden, Drew Hayden Taylor and John Kim- Bell was rewarding for Thom.

 “It was a good experience. They made me feel really talented and artistic. The drawing made some people cry. It’s kind of cool that it brings out that many emotions,” said Thom.

Thom’s contemporary pencil drawing depicts a child’s body with wings and an Elder’s face. In her artist’s statement, Thom said, “I am trying to portray the idea that we as Aboriginal people still continue to live with the effects of residential school. The body of the child represents the youth and the clean slate that we bring into this world, into our culture, and families. The body of the youth gives us hope for brighter days ahead, as well as symbolizing the need to be nurtured, protected and loved. The head of the Aboriginal Elder symbolizes the burdens of our past. I tried to incorporate the emotion of hurt and brokenness that he feels. I felt as if he was violated in mind, body and spirit and he continues to see the broken spirits in our communities.”

John Kim-Bell, who was one of the jurors for the arts challenge, and presented the top prize to Thom, said the jury was looking for five things: clarity of Native content, the intellectual strengths of the artist’s statement, the creativity and originality of the work, the quality of compositional design and the overall impression of the work.
“Young Taylor Thom’s piece scored the highest in all these categories. It was so unique. It has a lot of interesting symbolism. We all liked it because it was so creative and original, but what really impressed us is that here is a young woman showing surprising maturity who thinks deeply about life and the Aboriginal experience,” said Kim-Bell.

Thom’s home town celebrated the award winner by showcasing her works of art during the recent Gift Lake Days. Thom, who has just graduated high school, is planning on making a career of her passion for visual art.
“I’ve always liked drawing. I like painting, but at the moment I’m better in pencil. I’m doing some upgrading right now, and then I want to get into an art school in Vancouver or somewhere in B.C.,” she said.

Presented by Enbridge Inc. the Canadian Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge is a national initiative of the Historica-Dominion Institute.

“The awards are a wonderful opportunity for young artists to get direct feedback from individuals established in the arts business. The art submissions will also be displayed in venues across Canada over the next months,” said Jeremy Diamond, director for the institute.
Next year, the institute will add a new category for three dimensional art. Aboriginal artists between the ages of 14 and 29 are invited to write short stories or create artwork about defining moments in Aboriginal history.

Photo caption: Soar Again by Taylor Thom took first place at the Annual Canadian Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge.