Three seventh graders at London Middle School were recently selected to have their artwork featured in a virtual gallery at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle.
The Ar(c)t(ic) Design gallery features visual art focused on High Arctic conservation, and was the final step of a contest that asked children between the ages of 5 and 17 to create an original piece of art to encourage other children to learn about the environmental issues facing the Arctic ecosystem.
The three students – Aurora, Francesca and Priscila – all began working on their projects as sixth graders during the 2023-2024 school year, the first year London had participated in the contest.
The contest was curated by Dr. Jennie Warmouth, a second grade teacher in Edmonds School District No.15 in Edmonds, Washington, and her students. It launched in 2020 following Warmouth’s expedition to Arctic Svalbard as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow with Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
It was brought to London by Tracy Crowley, a sixth-grade science teacher and a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. She and Warmouth were fellows during the same year, with Crowley embarking on her own expedition to Antarctica.
“I saw [Jennie] had posted something about the contest on her Facebook page, and decided to introduce the idea to our science students,” Crowley said. “We had just gone through a unit on climate change, and had previously studied polar regions and animals, so this fit really well.”
It was then up to the students to take the idea and create their own concept, which could be submitted through several mediums, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, videography and photography. They were also asked to submit a short artist’s statement along with their entry.
Aurora, who submitted an oil painting called “Without Water, There is No Future,” said she got her idea by looking at other images to get her inspiration.
“I want to communicate that the High Arctic is important and valuable to everyone, and what humans do matter and that we can change this horrible act that is creating climate change,” she added in her artist’s statement.
Priscila opted for an acrylic painting called “Deterioration,” and sought her inspiration from the internet and what others had already worked on. “I also had some ideas in my head and just started painting,” she added.
“The importance of this piece is to show people the significance of global warming on the environment,” Priscila added in her artist’s statement. “Specifically in our glaciers, home of many creatures. It [is] sad to see that these creatures’ homes are deteriorating.”
Francesca went the sculpture route, crafting a polar bear out of clay. Her entry, “Ursus Maritimus Lost at Sea,” aimed to help people care more about polar bears and the life-threatening situations they face.
“My idea of it was to make it more realistic,” she said. “If it was something in 3D, people could imagine what it was like and what was going on.”
Entries were due by June 7, and were evaluated based on a nine-point rubric aimed at critiquing each piece’s accuracy/criticality, activation of empathy, and design principles. Ninety-eight pieces were received in the end, and the top-scoring 40% were selected for inclusion in the virtual gallery.
News of their inclusion trickled in, with Francesca texting Crowley in August and thanking her “for encouraging me to do this and helping me on my journey.” Priscila received an email, and was “too excited” to tell her family the good news. Aurora was unaware she was included until her Project Lead the Way teacher congratulated her.
“I was so confused; I had no idea,” she added.
“It also just shows you their level of motivation, because this contest really took off during the last week of school, and most people are getting ready for their break by this point,” Crowley said. “Meanwhile, these three are working at home on art related to climate change.”
From a school standpoint, the achievement goes to show how self-driven these students are, according to Tyler Smith, assistant principal of London.
“They’re just trying to get out there and do something,” he said. “Even as artists, trying to get their work out there and being as brave as they were, and as advocates for nature and climate change.”
Crowley and Caitlin Huff, sixth grade core teacher, are planning to reintroduce the contest this year to the new class of sixth graders. However, it will remain open to the entire school.
The three seventh graders are also planning to re-enter, and are using their achievement as their new inspiration.
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