KELSEY JAMES
STAFF REPORTER
WESTWOOD
ST. JAMES
A young Westwood artist has won the St. James-Assiniboia School Divisions mARTch art contest.
Swasti Kumar, 10, was selected as the winner for her painting of a bright red flower on a sky blue background. She attends Sansome School in Westwood, which is where she learned of the contest.
The St. James-Assiniboia School Division announced the contest on Feb. 25. Students in Grades 3 to 5 from across the division were invited to submit their best original painted pieces to their art teacher by March 25.
Kumar was thrilled to be selected and grateful for her prize a childrens art kit complete with a sketch pad, markers and crayons. Her whole class also got canvases.
You could say Ive been painting for a long time, Kumar said. I like to paint flowers. My teacher told everyone I had won.
Kumars painting now hangs in the board office at the divisions district office on Portage Avenue. Its exciting and scary to know her painting is on display, Kumar said.
Its not the first time the 10 year old has been acknowledged for her artistic talents. In 2020, Kumar won Take Pride Winnipegs Recycled Art Contest for her crocodile made of toilet paper rolls, foil and egg cartons. The contest encouraged young creators to make an animal out of recycled materials.
Art is both a hobby and a potential career path for Kumar. Her family moved to Canada in 2014 and Kumar has been taking virtual art classes with a painter in Calgary, Alta. She even has her own portfolio, where she keeps all her artwork.
Since shes started painting its just improved day by day. Some people even ask us if she would do a painting for them to frame, said Kumars mother, Namrata Dugar.
Shes growing up and we are also learning about how school and things work here, Dugar added.
Kelsey James
Community Journalist
Kelsey James is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. She graduated from Red River College’s creative communications program in 2018 as a journalism major and holds a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric, writing and communications from the University of Winnipeg. A lifelong Winnipegger who grew up in southwest Winnipeg, Kelsey is thrilled to be covering the neighbourhoods she still calls “home.”
