The CanFASD Art Competition is open to Canadian artists with FASD. Applicants must submit a photo of an original piece of art, but the medium is up them. We received photos of statues, drawings, paintings, and costumes for submission. Although the winner will be featured on our holiday card, their art doesn’t have to be holiday themed. Our applicants are inspired by anything from holiday traditions to beach sunsets, and everything in between.
We’ve been holding the competition since 2016 but this has been the most popular year yet. We’ve received really unique submissions from artists of all ages, all over the country. It was really difficult for us to choose just one winner because there were so many artists we wanted to showcase. So this year, for the first time, we’re introducing second and third place titles along with our first place winner.
Our third place winner is Anna Dobson for her piece entitled, “fairy view of a sunflower”. Anna created this piece at 8 years old. She is now twelve and her creativity has not diminished. In addition to being a budding artist, Anna is also a musician. She plays the piano and is trying to learn how to play the guitar, saxophone, violin, and the pan flute.
Fairy view of a sunflower by Anna Dobson
In second place is Josiah Herbert who lives near Edberg, Alberta. Josiah’s submission was inspired by winter and the upcoming Christmas season. Josiah is 13 years old and has FASD. He draws and paints to stay calm. Along with his artistry, Josiah also has a number of other hobbies: “I also love trampoline, skateboard, biking, climbing trees and when Mom lets me, playing video games, making slime and baking cakes.”
Submission by Josiah Herbert
Our winning submission was from Candace Bighead, an Indigenous artist with FASD. Her piece was inspired by her traditional name, Apisci Iyapiw Sohkitehewin, which means small deer with courage. Candace is an aspiring artist who loves to share her gift of creativity with the world. This piece was created in honour of her kokum:
“My beautiful kokum blessed me with this name when I was born! My Kokum is fighting leukemia and I wanted to honor her and give her a gift! So I sat down with my pencils and allowed Creator to guide my heart and my hands! This picture is the result of many hours!”
Front of the CanFASD holiday cards. Art submission by Candace Bighead.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals across Canada who entered into the CanFASD Art Competition. There were so many incredible pieces created it was hard to choose our winners. We encourage all applicants to stay creative over this next year and apply again next holiday season.
This competition enables Canadian artists with FASD the opportunity to showcase their work at a national level. We are one of very few awards in Canada that provide financial support to individuals with FASD specifically. This award was made possible by the donations we received from our community members and the interest of the artists themselves. If you’d like to sponsor the CanFASD Art Competition (or events like it) please send us an email at info@canfasd.ca.