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Draft:Winged Canvas

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Winged Canvas is an online community and visual art school that offers classes, camps. and mentorship in a variety of disciplines. Prior to 2020, Winged Canvas was an art gallery and 4-studio space for classes and creation in Markham, Ontario, Canada. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the building closed its doors to keep in line with physical distancing requirements but the educational aspects of the business transitioned to an entirely online model and, as a result, the art school was able to remain open.[1] All educators on staff are professional artists and the school's curriculum is designed to align with and supplement the Ontario Arts Curriculum.

History

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On Family Day weekend in 2014, former advertising art director Fei Lu and her husband Aaron Fruman opened an art studio and gallery in their hometown. The space was marketed as an art hub that would "help their students reproduce, frame and market their work as real artists in the industry."[2] Winged Canvas offered in-person classes, camps and workshops[3] for students of all ages and skill levels. Primarily, students were children, preteens and teenagers. Classes were interactive and sometimes included relocating for inspiration.[4]

Over its six years of physical operation, the art hub hosted a variety of exhibitions[5][6][7][8] and grew to four studio spaces. In 2017, Winged Canvas expanded their gallery to be full-service in an effort to bring artists and collectors closer together locally.[9] The art hub hosted a minimum of eight theme-based exhibitions each year, offered printing and framing services,[10] and provided portfolio guidance in addition to all of the school-side activities and space rentals.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

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Shortly after celebrating six years of being in business in mid-March 2020 - despite having classes, workshops, and events booked for several months into the future - Lu and Fruman chose to refund their clients, lay off a good portion of their staff and close their doors[11] when physical distancing lock down measures were starting to be enforced. To avoid shutting down the business entirely, Lu was determined to not be limited by the building and, as a result, decided to take the school aspect of the art hub online[1] and open it up beyond the local talent.

Online Art Nerds

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The four foundational teaching principals the school was already known for - NERD: Nurture; Explore; Recreate; Design - proved to transition well to online teaching and made for a recognisable catchphrase. After some trial and error (and a brief segue into teaching resources[12][13]), Winged Canvas learned that opening their services to the international market was a sustainable model (and that some students are more inclined to participate in an anonymous, online environment[1][12]).

Classes, workshops, camps and mentorship have been continued offerings at Winged Canvas and the online art hub has extended beyond classes to social media, culminating into a unique experience that shows how accessible art and creative education can be.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Zangouei, Aileen (April 30, 2020). "Markham's Winged Canvas art hub moves online amid COVID-19 pandemic". Markham Economist & Sun.
  2. ^ Tascioglu, Janine (February 6, 2014). "Art hub opens Family Day weekend". Markham Economist & Sun. p. 15.
  3. ^ "Landscape Painting in Oil Workshop at Winged Canvas Art Hub". Markham Review. September 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Somerville, Steve (August 7, 2014). "Students Paint Nature". Markham Economist & Sun. p. 20.
  5. ^ Somerville, Steve (May 7, 2019). "Winged Canvas Celebrates 5 Years". Markham Economist & Sun.
  6. ^ "Art & Travel A Cultural Odyssey". BlogTO. April 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Holiday Salon Show 2018". Markham Review. November 2018.
  8. ^ "The Art of Abstraction Exhibition". Markham Review. April 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Thompson, Sarah (December 9, 2017). "Markham Art School Introduces a Full-Service Art Gallery". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ^ Somerville, Steve (April 29, 2019). "Winged Canvas flying high in Markham art scene". YorkRegion.com.
  11. ^ Zangouei, Aileen (April 30, 2020). "Markham's Winged Canvas art hub moves online amid COVID-19 pandemic". YorkRegion.com, Markham Economist & Sun.
  12. ^ a b Joseph, Simone (October 28, 2021). "Markham art school offers help to teachers". YorkRegion.com, Markham Economist & Sun.
  13. ^ "Educational and Curriculum Content: Winged Canvas". McIntyre Media.