Ms. Yan's Class

Work Struggles - Kristyne 

This sculpture explores the inequality that many immigrants, particularly Asians face in the Canadian job market. While native born Canadians often have access to a range of career opportunities, immigrants are frequently limited to low-paying or entry-level positions, regardless of their skills or qualifications. This disparity reflects a deeper issue of cultural bias and unequal treatment in both professional and academic environments. The piece was inspired by my mother’s experience working at a bank, where she endured long hours, minimal breaks, and daily disrespect from coworkers. Despite her dedication, she was undervalued and overworked, experiences that are too common among immigrant workers. From a specific angle, the sculpture reveals the figure of a woman buried beneath stacks of paper, symbolizing the overwhelming workload and invisible weight she carries. Through this work, I aim to honour my mother’s resilience in the struggles faced by immigrant communities seeking dignity and opportunity. 

Outfits of Journey - Mia

I wanted my art piece to capture my grandmother’s journey in a meaningful way. To achieve this, I decided the best way was to show this through three different outfits. An outfit can tell a lot about a person. They can tell a lot about their background, and where they came from. For my three outfits, I made each one represent each country she was in. The first outfit is a traditional salvadoran dress. This dress is usually worn by women to celebrations such as festivals and traditional dances. This dress expresses their cultural identity and heritage. The second outfit is a tank top with “LA” written on it. This outfit represents my grandma’s time in Los Angeles, (a city in California) after she escaped from the civil war in her home country to the United States. Since Los Angeles was also a hot place, similar to El Salvador, I decided to design a tank top instead of a regular t-shirt. For the final outfit, I made a jacket to represent Canada, the final country of her journey. One of the main problems my grandma faced was the sudden change of temperature. Unlike the sunny climate of LA and El Salvador, Canada’s colder temperatures were something my grandma had to get used to. I thought the jacket would be a perfect way to show this major change in my grandma’s life. For my art piece, I mainly used the colours blue and white, which are the same colours seen in El Salvador’s flag. The base of my sculpture is inspired by the simplistic art style of salvadoran folk art, which is also known for incorporating florals such as trees, plants, and flowers. At the front of the base, I used a bracelet with “El Salvador” written on it, which perfectly fit the colour theme. For final touches, I painted yellow flowers on the sides of the clothing rack. These flowers are called Yucca flowers, and are the national flower of El Salvador. They symbolize strength, resilience, and new opportunities. I think this fits very well with my grandma’s story. Her strength and resilience of facing the challenges of escaping a civil war, and the new opportunities she was given in her new life in the US and Canada. I think my art piece represents and displays my grandmother’s story in a creative way, showing the struggles and yet beauty of her resilience and courage. 

In Two Worlds - Hailey

My art piece, In Two Worlds, is a representation of my family’s immigration story to Canada. The two sides of my project (black & white) represent the place that I’m from, Hong Kong, and the place I now live in, Canada. It also represents that I belong to both countries, not only one. The colours, black and white, show the differences between the two places, while also representing night and day. The buildings on the left are from Hong Kong, and the buildings on the left are from Canada. There is also a sign in between the two sides that says ‘restart’. This represents my parents' sacrifice and adaptation when immigrating to Canada, and how we all had to learn to adapt to the new environment. In order to immigrate to Canada, my parents had to sacrifice many things, including their jobs, lifestyle, and much more. However, they were willing to restart their lives for better education and opportunities for me and my sister. The figures sitting on the ground represent me and my family. My sister and I sit on the left side (HK side), while my parents sit on the right side, (Canada side). This represents me and my sister’s uncertainty when our parents told us that we were going to immigrate to Canada, and our feelings of sadness when we were about to leave our home — Hong Kong. All together, my art piece represents me and my family’s immigration story, and how we all sacrificed, adapted, and restarted our lives, and more importantly, ourselves. 

Rebirth of Life - Owen

From living a fulfilling life in Hong Kong to suddenly relocating worldwide, my mother had to leave behind everything familiar when China took control of the region. The transition was far from easy, but she and her family found a way to adapt quickly to their new life in Canada. When she came to Canada, her daily routine in Hong Kong changed significantly. One of the first things she noticed was how different her daily routine had become. In Hong Kong, she wore a school uniform every day, but in Canada, choosing what to wear in the morning was a new challenge. Determined to connect, she embraced her new environment by working alongside mainstream students, doing homework, and finding common ground through education. She was never singled out in part because many other Asian immigrants were also beginning new lives in Canada. Yet she was even able to get along fairly well. Her ability to adapt to sudden change inspired me to create a sculpture. 

As mentioned earlier, my mom had to come to Canada due to the unsafe conditions in Hong Kong. Her story inspired this art piece, a chopped tree trunk transformed into a stump with deeply embedded roots and a single branch reaching upward. The sculpture also includes a few flying papers and one dove around the branch. My sculpture is viewed from bottom to top as the tree stump with deeply embedded roots represents my mother’s origin, which was in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, she was an A student and had a perfect education. She was well adapted to the environment, and she was able to speak her mother tongue comfortably. The scattered books show how my mother came to Canada as a student. Additionally, I added green accents to show that even though she left her homeland, she has never forgotten where she came from. As you slowly look up, the one single branch represents how my mom needed to readjust her daily life before. Although it was difficult to adjust, she was able to find many different routes to fit in with others. Additionally, the flying papers around the sculpture represent how easy homework was in Canada. She mentions how math was specifically easier and English was harder, as English wasn’t her first language. Fortunately, she knew some English, which didn’t make it as difficult. Also, I decided to add only one dove because, specifically, one dove represents peace and hope. This was the case for my mother. She came to Canada for one reason. To stay safe from the possible war that would’ve broken out. 

The branch growing upward also symbolizes how she is now in a joyful stage of her life. She often talks about how peaceful and kind people in Canada are. She even loves the change in seasons and appreciates the mild weather, which she describes as “just right.”

 To conclude, my mother’s ability to adapt to a new environment can be described in 3 words. Adaptable, Grateful, and Open-Minded. Throughout this interview with my mother, her story inspired me a lot as she was able to communicate with strangers whom she didn’t even know. Her courage to do homework and learn with classmates made me think about how brave she was as a new immigrant.

Education and Experiences - Abby

My sculpture represents the happiness and new experiences my father found immigrating to Canada. The media often portrays immigrants as people who are greatly affected by racism. Though it happens to many individuals and should be acknowledged, not every immigrant experiences racism. My father had an amazing time as an immigrant and had very supportive teachers, family, and friends around him. He came to Canada to continue his education at Western Ontario University. He felt that Canada was more tranquil and peaceful compared to the busy streets and stressful school environment in Hong Kong. My work utilizes shape, colour, and form to capture the different struggles and pleasant moments my father encountered.

The open book in the back has the cover of a Canadian flag, symbolizing his immigration to Canada. The book shows a mixture of illegible scribbling and words that describe his experiences. The writing gets progressively more comprehensible, showing the journey of learning English. Learning the language is a challenge every immigrant faces. Many overlook this struggle, and some people may find themselves being made fun of for their accent or discriminated against for this reason. Fortunately, my father had many encouraging people who taught and worked with him even when he barely knew any English. He mentioned that once he built up the courage to answer a question from the professor and they were extremely proud of him for doing so.

 Along with that, trees are often used as a symbol of wisdom, growth, and education. In front of the tree is Western Ontario University which houses the lasting memories made inside. These both depict his reasoning for traveling to Canada. A lake with much greenery with a person fishing also expresses his first impression of Canada. It conveys his thoughts when he was fishing with his aunt and cousins in which he felt that this country was far quieter than the surroundings of Hong Kong. Additionally, blue, the colour of the base, is associated with calmness and serenity. 

Altogether, these parts come together to reflect my father’s immigration to Canada.

Glass Garde - Ena

            My artwork combines unseen realities and the privileged. Being privileged can often trap you in a bubble of your own experiences, removed from the diverse lives around you. My mother grew up in a sheltered environment, akin to a glass flower vase. She was raised in a loving family and had limited exposure to topics like prejudice or racism. Even now, she appears to have the mentality of a blissfully unaware child.

            I represented my mother with a daisy, a hibiscus, an orchid, and a lily of the valley flower. All of them share a similarity, purity, and innocence, therefore correlating with my mother’s unfamiliarity with the struggles others may suffer through. The purity also underscores a concerning truth, aka her ignorance of racism that has changed many lives. 

            I’m sure many of you noticed the crack in the vase. This crack symbolizes the effects of racism, even when it's not always visible. It's important to recognize and support those who are experiencing it. Unfortunately, some individuals haven't been fortunate enough to receive support against discrimination. The wilted petal represents those who have faced racism in less caring environments.

             Wilted flowers are commonly metaphors for the gradual decline of joy in the face of persistent unfairness. Occasionally, it is used for the fleeting nature of youth. Racism impacts the youth, often resulting in tragic and unwarranted losses. The weight of such discrimination can overwhelm individuals, darkening their perspective on life. 

             Through my art, I aim to recognize the diverse realities around us so we can have a deeper understanding of the worlds beyond our bubbles.

Transition - Kerrian

           "Transition" is an art piece that represents the emotional and personal challenges my interviewee faced when he immigrated to Canada from China. The journey was not just about moving to a new country—it was about starting over in a place that felt completely unfamiliar. The extreme differences between the two countries made him feel nervous, worried, and even terrified. Everything from the language to the culture and even the way people interacted felt foreign and confusing to him.

Education was one of the most difficult parts of his transition. When he first arrived in Canada, he found it very hard to keep up in school because of the language barrier. He couldn’t understand the lessons clearly and often felt lost in class. This made him feel discouraged and different from the other students. To improve, he had to take extra English classes and get extra help with his schoolwork. While others were moving ahead, he had to spend more time learning basic things just to catch up. Even though this was frustrating and tiring, he stayed determined and worked very hard. His experience shows how education can be one of the biggest challenges for newcomers, especially when they are trying to learn a new language at the same time. 

Socializing was extremely difficult for my immigrant. In China, he had close friends and felt comfortable, but in Canada, everything changed. Because he didn’t speak English very well at first, he found it difficult to make friends or even have simple conversations. He often felt left out and alone, which made him question if he would ever be able to fit in. This made him feel anxious and unsure of himself, especially in school, where talking and participating were important.

In my artwork, I wanted to show both the difficulties he experienced in socializing and how he kept trying and attempting to fit in or get used to living in this new environment. I used sharp lines and dark colours to represent fear, confusion, and stress. These areas of the piece feel uncomfortable and chaotic, just like how he felt during his first months in Canada. But I also included softer lines, lighter colours, and small areas of calm to show the moments of hope and growth. These changes in the artwork represent the small steps he took to adjust and move forward.

"Transition" tells a story that many immigrants can relate to. It shows how hard it can be to leave your home behind and start over somewhere completely new. It’s not just about the physical move—it’s about the emotional journey too. Through this piece, I hope to help others understand how difficult and brave this process can be, and to give a voice to those who are often silently struggling with these changes.

A Plan to Immigrate to Canada - Dean

           My art is called a plan to immigrate to Canada. My shadow of racism art piece is about my family, including father, mother, their son, their brother and grandparents. My family grew up in China. Parents and two brothers usually search for the differences between China and Canada, and we think Canada’s education is better than China. Many people immigrate to Canada because of the education. A tall tower is in my drawing. It’s called Oriental Pearl Tower. The dragon is a tradition in China. It means good luck, strength and health. I hope we can go to Canada and travel safely. Now our wish came true. My parents got a visa. Part of our family came to Canada. We came to Canada last year before Christmas.

A Fresh Start - Lucas 

I named this artwork A Fresh Start, It shows an airplane flying to a blank space. This represents what my mom’s experience was like. She mentioned that her parents had to leave everything behind so that they could have a brighter future. The blank space shows how they are going somewhere completely new to them. She also mentioned how there were no relatives or cousins in Canada. This meant they were on their own and didn’t have anywhere to live. I have included the blank space because they didn’t have any family members, no homes to live in, and they didn’t know how to speak English in Canada.   

I have chosen to create a sunset as the background because they came to Canada at night. I used the colours yellow, orange, red, purple, and blue to create the sunset. I made the buildings layered by making them different colours. The buildings at the front are black, and the buildings at the back are grey. I have used blue to create my clouds````````````. For the painting, I used acrylic paint and a small, tiny brush to paint the sunset. Even though a bigger brush would have made it easier and more efficient, I decided to use a small one because it is easier to blend and there is an airplane so I didn’t want to get paint on it. 

I used the painting technique of dabbing to create my clouds to make them more realistic.

None - Acceptance - Rajesh 

My art piece represents isolated Ms.Kurek. When Ms. Kurek came to Germany, she was not accepted by the society thus she felt isolated. The German flag in the background and the people's hands pointing at her means she wasn’t accepted.

Ms. Kurek explains that when she was in Germany, she was treated unwell and not fairly. Her family was all in danger thus she and her family were not safe. She was put in a refugee camp to stay safe. but all the others were Sinhalese people with some Germans and they all were treated well. Ms. Kurek’s dad had a government job and for some reason her dad’s job was to put her, her mother and her little brother in danger ! So when I connect this to my art piece, the dark toned skin-colored hands are Sinhalese people and the lighter toned hands are the Germans and they are being cruel and mean.

After a couple of months Ms. Kurek’s family left and she was alone and she had no support. When she came to Germany her family wasn’t fine with that. She says that she is sad because she didn’t even get to say goodbye to them so my art piece shows Ms. Kurek’s face is covered with a block of tile with a question mark on it. That question mark represents that she was going through all sorts of things and all sorts of emotions.

The Poland flag behind her in my art shows that she is from Poland. Ms. Kurek also tells how nobody liked her and her family because she had the skin colour white and she was from Poland. So when I connect this to my art piece, her face is covered with a block of tile so that she is covering her identity and to also cover her emotions.

Arriving - Anya 

My art piece, Arriving, has a special meaning of how my mom first arrived in Canada and looked back at her home country. When my mom first arrived, she arrived with her family, her husband and her daughter. As shown in the image, there is a dark blue mat with three people sitting on it, representing my dad, my mom, and me. I also added several neon signs where there are multiple shops on different floors, or a sign to represent their store. I added the neon signs because these vibrant signs can capture each customer’s attention and make businesses more visible and memorable, especially at night. Moreover, the Hong Kong buses and taxis shown on the road help to symbolize and represent the city of Hong Kong. On the other side, the CN Tower and the Parliament Building are shown to represent iconic landmarks of Canada. I included some snow effects with a blue sky to represent the fashion of Canada as it always snows. The use of snow effects and a blue sky highlights the Canadian environment, where snowy weather is a distinct and defining feature.

Places' Distinction - Daniel 

My Shadows of Racism art piece is named Places’ Distinctions. is about my mother’s immigration to Canada. My mother is a Chinese citizen and she grew up in China. She then immigrated to Canada in 2021 with me. My mother immigrated to Canada in search for better opportunities for work and education for me. When we came to Canada and searched for better lives, my mother noticed lots of differences in living conditions. Her life in China was very different from her life in Canada now.

 For my art piece, I drew my mother and then I drew China on one side of my work, and Canada on the other side of my work, with my mother in the middle. My art piece represents the differences in life after her immigration to Canada. Some of the experiences my mother faced in Canada were the differences in the environment and the differences in the climate.

 To show the differences in living conditions, I included a blazing sun in the China side, with blue skies and small clouds, along with the Great Wall of China and the other buildings in China. I also added a factory, indicating the air quality of China, as my mother mentioned. On the Canada side, I drew a clean, blue sky and pieces of snow and ice on the beaches of Toronto, and a very icy Lake Ontario.  My mother is the person in the middle who experienced all of these changes. I was inspired to create this piece from my interview with my mother. My mother immigrated to Canada and said that she had lots of experiences.

 She explained that she had great improvements but also some downsides. My mother experienced more expensive living here, as the prices of goods and services are more expensive. My mother also experienced downsides about the climate. It was the main aspect she had talked about. She said that the winters were much lengthier and she was not used to that type of weather condition. For almost half of the year, the ground is covered with cold snow, or the temperature is below freezing. She remembers the hot summers and relatively warm winters. In China, some if not most of the winters in her hometown didn’t even have any snow whatsoever. In my artwork, I drew a very blue sky, with the sun’s rays beating down. Meanwhile, the artwork’s Canadian side has a light blue sky in the winter with a sun, but no rays beating down to indicate that it is a very hot day, because it is not a hot day at all. 

My mother had a lot of experiences when she came to Canada. She sought improvements, and she said that the air quality is a big improvement. In China, the air quality is not as good as the air quality in Canada. To show that, I added a factory on the China side to show that the air quality is satisfactory. My mother experienced great things in Canada and also some bad aspects, but overall, her immigration to Canada was an improvement to herself and her son, me and our family altogether. Canada was a country that has lots of upsides to offer, and my mother really liked that. The End.