A Saanich student who painted a portrait of a 19th-century First Nations figure will be honoured at a ceremony in Toronto this week.
Gahwi Woo, a Grade 10 student at Mount Douglas Secondary School, took first place in the senior arts category of the War of 1812 Writing and Arts Challenge.
She said she painted Trinket in acrylic and watercolour and tried to show the First Nations perspective of the cultural changes and outside influences that would have come with the War of 1812.
“Usually people focus more on the American or British-Canadian side, but I wanted to focus on the natives because people don’t always know what their perspective was.” Woo said. “It really inspired me how the natives had to co-operate together to defend their own land.”
Woo beat eight other applicants in her category, which accepts works by Grade 8 to university-level students. There were 184 submissions in the contest as a whole.
Woo, a Korean international student, has visited only Vancouver, and is looking forward to travelling to a bigger city.
“I’m really excited to see the historical monuments and museums there. And I might go to the CN Tower and get on the top floor and look down,” she said.
The contest is run by Historica Canada, an organization dedicated to Canadian history and citizenship, and sponsored by Heritage Canada.
“Gahwi’s piece was chosen for its in-depth understanding of the War of 1812 and its portrayal of an under-represented perspective in the conflict,” Historica Canada program officer Alexandra Tichinoff said in an email.
“Her use of acrylic and watercolour demonstrates a mature artistic talent that impressed our panel of judges.”
Gahwi will travel Wednesday to Toronto, where she will meet with other winners, visit cultural venues and attend the awards ceremony at the Moose Factory, a gallery and event space run by the artist Charles Pachter.
