The Durham District School Board (DDSB) is dedicated to creating equitable, diverse and inclusive environments for all students and staff.
Jeffery Laine poses with the mural he designed and created recently unveiled at Dunbarton High School.
On Wednesday, September 9, 2021 Dunbarton High School unveiled two recently installed murals in the school library. As part of Dunbarton High School's Library Renovation project community artists were contacted to create murals allowing students to see themselves reflected on the walls of their school.
Community artists Jon Colwell and Jeffery Laine unveiled their work to be displayed in the school library for students and staff. Colwell's Indigenous mural and Laine's Black History mural will be shared with students and staff starting September 9 at the start of school.
Both artists are DDSB alumni from Port Perry High School and are delighted to be giving back to help bolster the cultural identities of students in the school and a knowledge base for the school's student body and staff.
Jon Colwell stands beside his artwork he hopes can create conversations at the recent unveiling at Dunbarton High School
Dunbarton High School is pleased students will now be able to see themselves reflected on the walls of their school and want the entire community to share in the Black and Indigenous representation in the arts featured in our school library.
Quotes
"Some of these figures are poignant to me but also throughout history. I wanted to make sure they were seen and heard. Hopefully not only Black students, but all students can come and feel a sense of pride when they look up and see these figures," Jeffery Laine, Black History mural community artist
"I am hopeful that these pieces will be a teaching opportunity. We are all unique and we all have a unique path. Not everyone's route to "success" or their personal growth journey is the same. I am hoping the artworks can create conversations that have in the past been glossed over. I would like it to help someone realize it is okay to be proud of who you are and your background no matter what that may be," Jon Colwell, Indigenous mural community artist
"With these murals I am excited that students are going to see themselves reflected on the walls of the school library which is an inclusive space," Karen Papadopoulos, Head of Library, Dunbarton High School
