At the end of April, six weeks into our quarantine period, a call went out to our international students asking them to share their special talents and participate in an OCENET sponsored “QuarantArt Contest”.
We asked students to submit works of art that were inspired or influenced by their quarantine experience…”How I’m surviving quarantine.” Any genre/medium was welcome. We received short stories, photos, poems, songs, music video, drawings, paintings, and digital artwork.
The talent amongst our international students is incredible! The voting was done by OCENET staff and it was very difficult to chose just two pieces. Each and every submission was imaginative, original, creative and deserving. After much deliberation, the winners were selected.
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| A screen shot from the music video entitled How to Handle Covid-19, the first place winner of OCENET’s QuarantArt Contest |
Our first-place winner of OCENET’s QuarantArt Contest was Eunbine (Sally) Park (Glashan PS– Grade 7). Sally wrote her song, How to Handle Covid-19, to cheer people up during this pandemic. Her lyrics offer advice on how to beat the virus and shows appreciation for the work of nurses and doctors. She recorded the music video with the help of her siblings and a “wonderful neighbour.”
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| Covid-19 Heroes poster by Gia Anh Thu Doan (Grade 11, Brookfield H.S.) |
Our second-place winner was Gia Anh Thu Doan (Brookfield HS – Grade 11) was inspired by the Avengers movies. Her art work entitled Covid-19 He-roes depicts front-line workers battling the Coronavirus as the villain stating “they are the heroes fighting against the coronavirus.”
Seventeen students participated in the QuarantArt Contest. The participants were asked to describe their inspiration for their pieces. Several of the international students explained that the quarantine period has al-lowed them the time to re-turn to their love of art, to use their imagination and be creative.
Others have been inspired by their nostalgia of places, people, and the beauty of “home”… whether of flowers, the sea, or sunsets or other natural wonders.
The OCENET team enjoyed sponsoring this con-test and every submission received elicited the “wow factor.” The winners’ submissions can be viewed by visiting the Covid-19 student update section of our website.
OCENET is sponsoring another challenge open to our international students over the summer called the Covid-19 Comfort Food Contest and will develop a special cookbook of all entries.
By Kari Hanes, Project Leader, Short-Term/Group Programs