Culture Days at The Sharing Farm

Community-Created Nature Art

Collaborative Art by Richmond Students and Local Artists Created for Culture Days Exhibition

Richmond, BC – The Richmond Arts Coalition partnered with the Richmond School District to put on a set of Culture Days workshops that culminated in an exhibition at the Sharing Farm in Terra Nova on October 14. The exhibition, “Cycle-logical Wonders”, showcased nature and culinary art that documented life cycles in the world around us.

Local artist Bea Martin worked with four groups of students from James Thompson Elementary School, including from its StrongStart early learning program. Martin conducted in-school sessions that taught colour theory and fundamentals of nature journaling, and then worked with the students at the farm on October 13 to complete final exhibition pieces that displayed the apple life cycle.

“I love helping my students connect with nature through nature journaling, which consists of using words, pictures, and numbers to describe our observations in our sketchbooks,” says Martin. “I thrive on fostering their curiosity and find it fascinating to see them take their new tools and have their own adventures outdoors by themselves, or with their friends and family. ”

Added to this year’s program was a workshop led by culinary artist Nav Sidhu. Sidhu led Grade 9 and 10 students enrolled in Food Studies at Hugh Boyd Secondary School through the making of apple crumble tarts. The apple tarts were decorated with icing sugar to reflect phases of the moon. Photos of the tarts were displayed alongside the artwork created by the Thompson Elementary students.

Richmond Arts Coalition Director, Sarah Glen shares, “Richmond has such a unique and thriving food scene, and there are many talented culinary artists that work in the city. We’re delighted that Nav was able to share her skills and passion for creating and presenting food with her students.”

This year’s Culture Days, a cross-country expression of arts, culture, and creativity, ran from September 22 to October 15. More information is online at https://culturedays.ca/en

The Richmond Arts Coalition is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization that supports and advocates for artists in Richmond. For more information, visit https://richmondartscoalition.com/

We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia. 

October 22, 2023