The 2025 Canadian Student Art inspiration Challenge

LEFT: Bertram Brooker, Sounds Assembling, 1928. Oil on canvas, 112.3 x 91.7 cmCollection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (L-80), photo credit: Ernest Mayer, courtesy of the Winnipeg Art Gallery RIGHT: Elizabeth Oluwasekemi Enoch, A Bright Future, 2025. Acrylic on canvas, 50.1 x 61 cm

The 2025 Canadian Art Inspiration Student Challenge

Celebrating Canada’s Future Artists

How do you raise awareness? What do your family traditions look like? What is your most prized possession? In celebration of ACI’s fifth annual Student Challenge, we asked questions such as these to students across Canada in the hopes of finding remarkable talent influenced by our country’s most innovative makers. With overwhelming enthusiasm, young artists in Grades 7 through 12 from coast to coast to coast responded. Their incredible creations—inspired by Canadian icons like Carl Beam (1943–2005), Edith Clayton (1920–1989), Betty Goodwin (1923–2008), and Takao Tanabe (b.1926)—engage with themes of identity, memory, and activism in riffs on Canada’s visual heritage that are inspiring in their own right. With this exhibition, ACI showcases the talent of our 2025 finalists who have sparked dialogues with the visionary artists who preceded them, asserting with fervour that the next generation of artists will continue Canada’s enduring legacy of creative innovation.

Painting by Claire Kim showing women working in the sciences.

Elizabeth Oluwasekemi Enoch, A Bright Future, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 50.1 x 61 cm.

Painting by Yurah Cho of three women planting rows of small plants in a field.

Painting by Edith Law of two people in a car at night, illuminated by the glowing lights of cars in traffic around them.

Painting by Wanzhen Tang of a man in a green coat and yellow hat standing in front of a yellow field with blue sky overhead.

Painting by Jiyul Park of a young girl wearing a winter jacket and ski goggles holding a "Beavertail" snack covered in chocolate and banana slices up to her mouth.

Artwork by Reem Hussain of a girl, wearing a headscarf, sitting and looking at the viewer and holding a rabbit by the ears. Beside her is an empty wooden chair on the right and a table with another rabbit on the left. A colourful patchwork design and border surrounds them.

Artwork by Macsen Aguinaga-Qian of six hands of various skintones making gestures on top of a yellow silkscreen. Images of sixteen objects are applied to the silkscreen with green emulsion.

Painting by Winston Li of three identical young men with short dark hair, wearing plaid pants and white sleeveless undershirts, sitting on and around a bed and playing cards.

Artwork by Chinonso Obioha of a highway and suspension bridge running over bright blue water with a rocky coastal landscape in the background.

Illustration by Adriel Redekopp of a brightly lit Shell gas station at night.

Digital illustration by Jeanne Faith Breis of a scene in an art gallery. The same woman with short red hair appears three times: in the background looking at a painting of a summer landscape, another walking towards the exit, and another in the foreground looking at a portrait of herself. On the right of the illustration is a cropped headline and column of text, implying that the piece is illustrating a magazine article.

Blue and green painting by Adelle McDougall of a dark figure with its head in its hands, water in an abstract geometric style flowing away from it. In the background are images of a dead fish, human brain, plastic bottle, and a bird entangled in plastic, along with scientific text.

Painting by Jacqueline Carmichael of a table set with tea, scones, cookies, jam, and strawberries on blue and white china. A plate in the centre is empty and its design shows a portrait of a young woman.

Illustration by Varvara Korotnytska of swirls of colour revealing the face of a scared young woman, a figure in a dark robe, and soldiers in helmets with skeletal faces.

Exhibition

About Paraskeva Clark

Russian-born Paraskeva Clark (1898–1986)—known for her modernist works with a European sensibility—was among the first Canadian painters to use her creative practice to address social issues.

About Her Inspiration

Representing Pioneers is a reinterpretation of Parachute Riggers by Paraskeva Clark. The original piece by Clark shows women engaging in the critical work of assembling parachutes during World War II, a labour that was essential but often undervalued. These women were leveled down to do their work, showcasing their contribution to the war effort and making a vital change in society. In my painting, I aim to highlight not only these historical contributions, but also the unrecognized labour women have always carried out, often behind the scenes. By contrasting this with modern-day women in various STEM fields, my work celebrates how far we’ve come. Today, women are not only participating in these critical areas but are leading and innovating, breaking through social barriers and going beyond the equation. Through my artwork, I represent the journey from the hidden, unrecognized work of the past to the empowered, trailblazing women of today who are shaping a more developed society.

–Claire Kim (Grade 8, Griffith Woods School, Calgary, Alberta)

Painting by Paraskeva Clark showing women manufacturing parachutes.

About Bertram Brooker

Manitoba-based painter Bertram Brooker (1888–1955) was one of the first artists to exhibit abstract work in Canada. His groundbreaking approach to artmaking was driven by the affective qualities of music and literature.

About Her Inspiration

My painting was inspired by Bertram Brooker. He was known as the first Canadian to exhibit abstract art. He used his art to capture the magical qualities of music in his paintings. In his abstract work, he utilized bright colors to make the painting have more meaning. I tried to incorporate that in my painting. However, my painting does not symbolize music, it symbolizes emotion. In my painting, it shows an abstract background, with the main subject looking up towards the sky with a peaceful expression. It is in the sense that she knows that she has the divine power in herself to do anything. Her future is symbolized by the bright and colourful abstract background. As artists we need to remember that our art can be a reflection of ourselves or our future. That is, if we look towards our future with passion and hope, we will know that our lives can be successful with aspiration, passion, and hard work.

–Elizabeth Oluwasekemi Enoch (Grade 8, Bliss Carman Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick)

Abstract painting by Bertram Brooker of zig-zag 3D lines coming out of circles.

Student Artwork

Elizabeth Oluwasekemi Enoch, A Bright Future, 2025

Acrylic on canvas, 50.1 x 61 cm

Painting by Helen McNicoll of women picking beans in a field.

About Molly Lamb Bobak

One of the nation’s most prolific artists, Helen McNicoll (1879–1915) garnered acclaim for her bright and sunny representations of rural landscapes, child subjects, and modern female figures—works that helped to popularize Impressionism in Canada.

About Her Inspiration

My artwork was inspired by the famous art piece, The Bean Harvest, by Helen McNicoll. As a second-generation Canadian, it reminded me of the countryside of Korea, which I haven’t been to but always imagined. Even though I have never seen the nature, peacefulness, and freedom in real life, I know of it from listening to my parent’s past experiences. Helen McNicoll’s way of painting and how she expressed her perspective inspired me to create it into a Korean cultural art piece. In this painting, I tried to show a side of my parent’s home country by painting traditional farming clothes that Korean grandmas typically wear. The unique floral pants are called “Gojaeng” which grabbed my interest for their vibrant floral pattern. Furthermore, I hope this artwork shows my Korean identity even if I am Canadian.

–Yurah Cho (Grade 9, Lynn’s Art Class, Coquitlam, British Columbia)

About Alex Colville

East coast artist Alex Colville (1920–2013) is best known for his unusual use of perspective, his mastery of realism, and the interior worlds of his subjects.

About Her Inspiration

Alex Colville’s paintings often depict everyday scenes, but they are composed to encourage viewers to ponder more profound meanings. In Family and Rainstorm, the artwork examines family and home, depicting unity in the face of an approaching storm. This inspired me to create my piece, where the viewer is positioned in the backseat of a car. This perspective symbolizes the lack of control over one’s journey, especially relevant to the teenage experience. As teenagers, we often feel like passengers in our own lives, with many decisions made by elders. The backseat represents both this lack of control and a sense of safety, as it is the safest place in a car, protected by family sitting in the front. Additionally, being stuck in traffic reflects the obstacles faced in life, while the vibrant city lights of Toronto at night contrast the chaotic outside world with the introspective moment within the car.

–Edith Law (Grade 9, St. Augustine Catholic High School, Markham, Ontario)

Painting by Alex Colville of a woman opening a car door for her two children while a rainstorm is seen in the background.

About Jean Paul Lemieux

Acclaimed painter Jean Paul Lemieux (1904–1990)—considered one of the most significant artists in the history of Canadian modernity—is known for his unembellished figurative depictions of the human condition.

About His Inspiration

Jean Paul Lemieux is a famous Canadian artist characterized by his sweeping landscapes and unique, blank-faced characters. Inspired by his works, Untitled features a self-portrait painted against the backdrop of Alberta Highway 201, only a few minutes from my house. In this piece, I wanted to represent the pervasive nature of loneliness, or in Lemieux’s words, “the solitude we all have to live with.” Even a person like myself—sociable, outgoing and with many friends—will feel secluded at times. Many aspects of this work are left open ended, like its title, or lack thereof. It is meant to express the intangibility of emotional isolation. Such sentiments cannot be titled nor described. In the end, I aimed to convey that Lemieux and I sustained the same idea, though our time periods are very different. Everyone experiences solitude; it is what makes us human.

–Wanzhen Tang (Grade 11, Calgary French & International School, Calgary, Alberta)

Painting by Jean Paul Lemieux of a woman in a yellow coat and large black hat standing in a field of snow with a small hazy sun visible in the grey sky.

Painting by Helen McNicoll of two young girls in white dresses sitting outdoors at a patio table with a bowl of cherries.

About Helen McNicoll

Nineteenth-century Impressionist painter Helen McNicoll (1879–1915) captured the lives of girls and women in her luminous scenes depicting the Canadian countryside, childhood hobbies, and rural female labour.

About Her Inspiration

Everyone has a different art style. I find joy in drawing in all the small details, even if it is unnoticeable to the viewer. For this painting though, I was inspired by Helen McNicoll’s art style which contrasts sharply with mine. Her use of broad, visible, and loose brushstrokes evoked a sense of nostalgia for me. This motivated me to paint my younger self in McNicoll’s style to truly capture that nostalgic feeling. I chose a time in life that brings back memories for many Canadians and myself: skiing with the classic beavertail. Although my painting is not the best imitation of her style, as it was difficult to shift from my original tight brushstrokes to loose ones, it was a very fun experience, and I learned a lot.

–Jiyul Park (Grade 10, White Oaks Public School, Oakville, Ontario)

About Edith Clayton

Nova Scotia-based maker Edith Clayton (1920–1989) was acclaimed for her skillfully handwoven splintwood baskets created through a combination of African and British weaving techniques, with influence from local Mi’kmaw dyeing practices.

About Her Inspiration

This piece is a tribute to my grandmother, who passed away in early 2025, reflecting the cyclical nature of generations passing and roles shifting that we take on over time. The empty chair beside me once belonged to her, just as I once sat in it the last time I saw her, listening to the stories of her past and her many opinions on things at the time. Now, I sit in a new chair; my grandmother’s chair, carrying on her legacy, just as future generations will continue to do in my place. The act of pulling the rabbit by its ears is a playful nod to the way she used to pinch us by our ears lovingly, whenever we would do something naughty. Inspired by Edith Clayton, I incorporated themes of history, belonging, and generational duty through symmetry and intricacy with the border, mirroring the balance of loss but having the willingness to continue on. The vibrant colours and decorative elements, done with acrylic and pencil crayon, evoke celebration rather than mourning, embracing how when there is sorrow, we must always look for the joy. This work is also a visual representation of yin and yang, as seen on the carpet—the contrast between presence and absence, tradition and change.

–Reem Hussain (Grade 11, Cawthra Park Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario)

About Betty Goodwin

Montreal artist Betty Goodwin (1923–2008) changed the medium of printmaking when, in 1968, she began putting found objects through a printing press. Her Vest series arose from this innovation and earned her critical acclaim.

About Her Inspiration

In my piece, I sought to look back and appreciate the wonderful memories I’ve had the fortune of experiencing. I was inspired by Betty Goodwin’s concept of immortalizing one’s prized possessions, and through Sempiternal, I hoped to bring importance to the visual art form as a preserver of time by sealing my work within the tool, a silkscreen, rather than an actual canvas. The sixteen objects on the screen depict the places I’ve been to, my interests, and the comfort surrounding my household, counting each year of my life. Seeing how little objects are on the screen made me realize how fulfilling my life has been for the time I have lived. The hands that reach out to the memories on the screen are a literal reflection of my process of recalling and being in touch with the things I have experienced in the past.

–Macsen Aguinaga-Qian (Grade 11, Cawthra Park Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario)

Illustration by Betty Goodwin of a thin, wrinkled vest done in black ink.

Painting by Alex Colville of a man, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, sitting at a wooden table in a plain room and facing the viewer. His elbows are on the table, hands near his chin. A pistol rests on the table, its handle in the air and casting a shadow as if dropped.

About Alex Colville

Imbued with a unique emotional intensity, East Coast artist Alex Colville’s (1920–2013) images of figures and faces are both restrained and revealing.

About His Inspiration

Alex Colville is renowned for transforming everyday scenes into compelling compositions filled with subtle unease. His painting Target Pistol and Man captures a still moment that leaves the viewer with intrigue—there is a quiet stillness, but also a palpable tension. This painting inspired me to reimagine mundane moments in my life as paintings that tell a narrative. In my piece, I depict three self-portraits sitting around a bed playing cards. At first glance, it is a calm, intimate moment, but similar to Colville’s work, an underlying tension permeates. The card game represents the internal struggles we navigate, while the multiple clones reflect the different parts of our psyche in conflict with one another. By transforming a quiet moment of self-reflection into a cinematic composition, I aim to unveil the hidden depth within ordinary experiences, where stillness and tension coexist.

–Winston Li (Grade 12, Lord Byng Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia)

About Takao Tanabe

One of the country’s most accomplished artists, Takao Tanabe (b.1926) is best known for creating large scale atmospheric paintings featuring some of the most iconic landscapes across Canada.

About Her Inspiration

Takao Tanabe is a Japanese Canadian who enjoys creating landscape paintings of places that make him feel at home. His works inspired me to create an artwork dedicated to my home country, Nigeria. I was born and raised in Nigeria until I was 10 years old and one of the things I enjoyed in Nigeria was going to Lagos to visit my extended family. I decided to show my love for Lagos by choosing two of my most memorable moments from my time there. One of these memories is driving along the bridges during family road trips. The bridge I used in my art piece is one of the most famous bridges in Lagos called Lekki Bridge. The beach scene in my artwork is inspired by another memory from my time in Lagos. Going to the beach was one of the things I loved to do there, so I selected a beautiful image of the beaches in Lagos and included it in my piece.

–Chinonso Obioha (Grade 11, Dr. Martin Leboldus Catholic High School, Regina, Saskatchewan)

Painting by Takao Tanabe of distant mountainous islands seen across a body of water underneath a grey sky.

About Doris McCarthy

Throughout her prolific career, landscape painter Doris McCarthy (1910–2010) became known for her depictions of Canadian places that featured a unique blend of naturalistic representation and abstraction.

About Her Inspiration

This piece is meant to convey feelings of nostalgia, childhood memory, and innocence by taking a location normally seen as dark and mundane and brightening it up and filling it with colour. I chose a gas station because the location has significance to my personal childhood memories. Some areas in the image have been simplified into shapes to symbolize the simplicity of viewing the world through the eyes of a child; the bright colour, to symbolize how children view the world in a much brighter and more colourful way. Doris McCarthy, my artist inspiration for this piece, encourages people to recreate places from their memories that have significance to them, and to emphasize the unique character of each location in an art piece. This piece connects with me personally, and I hope others can connect their childhood experiences to the feeling of this piece as well.

–Adriel Redekopp (Grade 11, Dr. Martin Leboldus Catholic High School, Regina, Saskatchewan)

Painting by Doris McCarthy of icebergs in the ocean, simplified into jagged shapes and fields of solid colours.

The Inspiration

Oscar Cahén, Cover illustration for Maclean’s, 1952

Tearsheet, 35 x 27 cm

Original in illustration in a private collection

About Oscar Cahén

One of the country’s top magazine illustrators and abstract painters, Oscar Cahén (1916–1956) rose to fame as a founding member of the acclaimed Painters Eleven—a group who broadened the scope of modern art in Canada by championing abstraction.

About Her Inspiration

Known for his vibrant designs, Oscar Cahén delivers important messages about social issues in the form of playful illustrations and commercial art. His ability to convey emotion through form and color is truly inspiring. By capturing both challenges and aspirations, this cover illustration deeply resonated with me. My piece reflects my own journey of uncertainty and the internal struggles that many artists experience. In a world where our technology is developing rapidly, society often urges us to be realistic and pursue careers that are highly respected, like the woman in the painting and the three versions of herself: one reflecting her passion, another showing her art career success, and the last, walking out the gallery, uncertain and sacrificing her creative pursuits. Through confronting my own personal doubt, I also want to emphasize the importance of balancing both objectivity and subjectivity—the brain and heart.

–Jeanne Faith Breis (Grade 11, Notre Dame Collegiate, High River, Alberta)

About Carl Beam

Contemporary Ojibwe artist Carl Beam (1943–2005) was dedicated to raising national awareness about the effects of colonialism in Canada, often through mixed media works that confronted injustices and highlighted the resilience of Indigenous Peoples.

About Her Inspiration

My piece Inescapable is a response to the growing crisis of plastic pollution, highlighting its overwhelming and pervasive presence in every corner of the planet. It is inspired by Carl Beam’s North American Iceberg and uses a similar style in the use of text, a spray-paint-like background, and visuals of media about the issue. The background images of a dead fish, human brain, plastic bottle, and a bird entangled in plastic are commentary on the destructive impact of plastics evident throughout the global environment. The written text represents the scientific knowledge and research of the growing dangers of reliance on plastic. The focus of the piece is a figure vomiting up plastic. This represents the overwhelming reality that plastic continues to be scattered throughout the planet, and there is no place safe from it, not even in our own bodies.

–Adelle McDougall (Grade 11, Cawthra Park Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario)

Artwork by Carl Beam that combines self-portraits and portraits of prominent historical figures, stencilled and handwritten texts, and transferred documentary photographs, all collaged across a visual plane of colour splashes, passages, and drips.

About Hannah Maynard

One of Canada’s earliest professional photographers, Hannah Maynard (1834–1918) was known for her innovative use of experimental techniques. Her whimsical photographs often included self-portraits and cutting-edge photo manipulation techniques.

About Her Inspiration

Feeling Blue was created to explore how I value life, and my impact on those who share their lives with me. In today’s political and social climate, it is easy to lose sight of life’s wonder amidst the impending sense of gloom fostered by demands of modern society. Inspired by Hannah Maynard’s surrealist photography, particularly her esoteric depictions of mortality after the deaths of her two daughters due to illness, I have come to realize modern humanity’s devaluing of life. Maynard subtly interwove portraits of deceased loved ones into her backdrops—present upon walls, textiles, and dishes. In a world of abundant resources for a healthy life, we have lost touch with the value of our modern privileges, and consequently our own lives. Feeling Blue aims to remind viewers of the wonder that still exists, and the impermanence of our time to experience it, through both ourselves and those important to us.

–Jacqueline Carmichael (Grade 11, Cawthra Park Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario)

Black and white composite photo by Hannah Maynard of a formally dressed woman and boy facing and interacting with themselves. The room is decorated with framed portraits.

Artwork by David Blackwood of a wooden boat containing several darkly dressed figures and children in the water. It is pulling a second empty boat. The figure at the front of the boat is holding a glowing lantern and in the distance is an island with a glowing lighthouse on a tall hill.

About David Blackwood

Artist and printmaker David Blackwood (1941-2022) was renowned for his dramatic and ethereal depictions of the legends and landscapes of Newfoundland.

About Her Inspiration

Drowning in the Nightmare explores the overwhelming emotions of fear, anxiety, and the struggle to escape the past. Inspired by David Blackwood’s dark, haunting tones and sense of tension, this piece blends vibrant colors with chaotic, dreamlike imagery. Bright, shifting colors represent the clash between reality and illusion, where nightmares take shape in unexpected forms. The swirling, fragmented world reflects the feeling of being lost in a dream—where nothing is stable, and fear follows every step. This artwork is also inspired by my own nightmares and experiences shaped by the lingering impacts of war.

–Varvara Korotnytska (Grade 12, O’Donel High School, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland)