In the spring of 2022, D&S Projects delivered artmaking workshops to students at West Glen Public School, as part of a Child’s Vision of Public Art, an initiative led by child-engagement consultants Recreate Place, and supported by ArtworxTO and Toronto District School Board. Through the workshops, children learned about public art and collaborated to create a publicly accessible temporary art installation on the school grounds. The intent of the project was to give students the opportunity to develop a large scale project, and see themselves as creators, as well as audiences for public art.

D&S Projects worked with Recreate Place to define the parameters of the art piece, selecting the materials, location and size of the work to fit within the constraints of the budget, site, and number of workshops, while leaving most other aspects of the piece to designed by the students. In the first workshop, the students learned about concept development, and brainstormed themes for their installation, as well as explored artistic techniques, like scale, multiples and colour theory, and learned to made models to test project ideas.

In the second workshop, students focused on producing their installation. Wood slices (cookies) were sourced from local trees, and with the support of D&S Projects and Recreate Place, the children sanded and the painted the cookies with their own designs and inspirational words. The cookies were mounted to the chain link fence surrounding the school yard so they were visible to both the children at recess, and passing community members. D+S Projects unified the work by painting yellow tree rings on the surface of the adjacent asphalt play yard to create a flexible gathering and play space, framed by the students work.