A Laura Secord Secondary School graduate has been named this year's recipient of the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre's annual art education scholarship.
Emma Smith received the $200 Niagara Pumphouse Arts Scholarship for Art Education and is continuing her studies in illustration at OCAD University, according to Niagara Now.
Smith's work centres on creating characters in a graphic style, often built around humour and playful concepts.
The award also recognizes her time at the Pumphouse itself. Over the summer, Smith worked as a camp counsellor at the Niagara-on-the-Lake arts centre, helping children explore art and build their creative skills.
'A vast range of ages'
My favourite part was being able to assist and connect with children from a vast range of ages, helping to strengthen their connection with art, its production, and fundamentals,
Smith said of her summer at the camp.
I will definitely carry with me the skill of running and teaching certain art techniques and assignments, as this has given me more practice in both explaining and showing my art process, which is a very important part of my major.
She added that the experience gave her valuable practice in communicating her artistic process to others.
Scholarship honours founding member
Natalie Early, secretary of the Niagara Pumphouse board, presented Smith with the scholarship in recognition of her artistic achievements and her plans to pursue post-secondary studies in the visual arts.
The scholarship was established in memory of Ian Butler, a founding member of the Pumphouse. It was created in 2010 and formalized in 2018 as an annual award for a graduating student from one of three Niagara Falls-area secondary schools: A.N. Myer Secondary School, Laura Secord Secondary School or Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School.
Recipients are selected from applications submitted by school staff.
The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre, located on the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, offers visual arts classes, workshops, camps, exhibitions and events throughout the year.
For local students and families, the centre's summer camps and year-round programming remain a key resource for young artists in the region, and the annual scholarship offers graduating students a way to carry that connection into their post-secondary studies.
