Westwood student wins St. James SchoolDivision March art contest

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This article was published 04/05/2022 (1551 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KELSEY JAMES

STAFF REPORTER

WESTWOOD

ST. JAMES

A young Westwood artist has won the St. James-Assiniboia School Division’s mARTch art contest.

Swasti Kumar, 10, was selected as the winner for her painting of a bright red flower on a sky blue background. She attends Sansome School in Westwood, which is where she learned of the contest.

The St. James-Assiniboia School Division announced the contest on Feb. 25. Students in Grades 3 to 5 from across the division were invited to submit their best original painted pieces to their art teacher by March 25.

Kumar was thrilled to be selected and grateful for her prize — a children’s art kit complete with a sketch pad, markers and crayons. Her whole class also got canvases.

“You could say I’ve been painting for a long time,” Kumar said. “I like to paint flowers. My teacher told everyone I had won.”

Kumar’s painting now hangs in the board office at the division’s district office on Portage Avenue. It’s exciting and scary to know her painting is on display, Kumar said.

It’s not the first time the 10 year old has been acknowledged for her artistic talents. In 2020, Kumar won Take Pride Winnipeg’s Recycled Art Contest for her crocodile made of toilet paper rolls, foil and egg cartons. The contest encouraged young creators to make an animal out of recycled materials.

Art is both a hobby and a potential career path for Kumar. Her family moved to Canada in 2014 and Kumar has been taking virtual art classes with a painter in Calgary, Alta. She even has her own portfolio, where she keeps all her artwork.

“Since she’s started painting it’s just improved day by day. Some people even ask us if she would do a painting for them to frame,” said Kumar’s mother, Namrata Dugar.

“She’s growing up and we are also learning about how school and things work here,” Dugar added.