Scholarships

The HISTORY of the Gallery in the Grove Scholarship Awards Program

Gallery in the Grove came into existence in 1980. Nan Punnett, a founding member, had the vision of a community gallery on the second floor of the Faethorne House. She could see that the space and the natural light from the windows made it an excellent location. Anne Zatilny, also a member of the board then, was instrumental in getting the Scholarship Program started in 1982. The awards were small and were given to art students at Lambton College. Art education became a major focus for the members of the board and also became part of the gallery’s mission statement. The target beneficiaries changed over the years and the money value of the awards changed also. The gallery has tried its best to provide $1000.00 to each scholarship recipient, each year. There was a healthy fund of money when GITG was looking after Art in the Park. The lack of volunteers to assist with the work of this major event, AITP, forced the gallery to come to an agreement with The Rotary Club of Bluewaterland regarding the assignment of the name. The Rotary club continues to work closely with the gallery and gives the gallery a small percentage of the final balance of money made by operating AITP. Now, in 2019, much of the money comes from the donation box, Gallery Friends’ donations, art raffles, commission money from art sales at the shows, other larger donations and grants. The gallery has now awarded an estimate of $124,000.00 in scholarships, and it hopes to continue giving generously in the years ahead. This accomplishment has received praise and thanks from the students, their families and their secondary teachers. City and County Officials have also given or sent regards that express their encouragement and praise of both the gallery’s achievement and the scholarship winners’ talents and skills. The gallery’s involvement in art education is something all Gallery Friends should be proud of and is also something to remember when your donation as a Gallery Friend is given. You can see what your small donation does and what a larger donation can do. More art students off to higher education in art programs at their chosen universities and colleges would benefit from getting a scholarship.

2025

This years’ scholarship recipients are:

Zoe Simpson from NCIVS will be studying Fine Arts - Studio at Western University
Savana Gorniak from St Pat's will be studying Concurrent Education – Visual Arts at the University of Windsor
Brooklyn Brown from LCCVI will be studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Western University
Julien Cates from NLSS will be studying Fine Arts Foundation at Fanshaw College
Alivia Goetz from St Pat's will be studying Fine Arts Foundation at Fanshaw College

2024

On Thursday, August 8th, four graduating high school students who will be continuing their studies in the arts were each awarded a $1000 scholarship. With them were family and friends to help them celebrate.

This years’ scholarship recipients are:

Lina Chanaga from St. Pat’s who will be attending University of Windsor for Concurrent Bachelor of Arts/Visual Arts
Rylee Kerr from LCCVI who will be attending Lambton College for Photography
Samantha Guertin from NCIVS who will be attending Algonquin College for Drawing Foundations for Animation and Illustration
Reese Waller from NCIVS who will be attending Western University for Art and Humanities.

Gallery Board Member Gwen Moore comments “I would like to thank the art teaches from high schools in Lambton County for their work in jurying the portfolios of the students who applied for the scholarships. I would also like to thank them for their guidance and encouragement of their students. Without this the students would not be here today.”

2023

Since the inception of the program in 1992, Gallery in the Grove has awarded over $145,000 in scholarships. Today’s scholarship winners will each receive $1,000 towards their future studies in the arts.

2022

It was another beautiful afternoon for presenting the four - $1000 Scholarships to 4 well deserving students. Gwen Moore, Gallery in the Grove Board member, presented the scholarships and Trevor Jamieson, Art teacher from NCVIS, was also here to speak on behalf of the jurors.
Each recipient brought a piece of their artwork and explained a bit about it and their program.

2021

This year we were able to host an outdoor presentation for the 4 scholarship winners. Gwen Moore hosted and Sheila Brown spoke about two $500 donations the Gallery received, one each from Scotia Bank Bright's Grove and The Optimist Club of Bright's Grove. Trevor Jamieson of NCVIS was also present to speak about the selection process and the winners.

Each recipient brought a piece of their artwork and explained a bit about it and why they chose their program.

2020

Congratulations to this year's scholarship winners!

We were unable to have an in person presentation this year, but are still thrilled to be able to award these talented young artists with $1000 each to use toward their post-secondary studies. We wish them well!

2019

On Thursday, August 15th, five students were awarded scholarships at the Gallery in the Grove. With them were family and friends to help them celebrate.

Susan Van Veldhuisen, an art teacher, talked about the selection process where students present their portfolio, sketchbook and artistic statement to a committee of high school art teachers. After studying the portfolios, the group of teachers choose their top four by ballot. From there, the top five are selected to be recipients of the scholarships. She said that the scholarships give not only financial support, but also a boost to their confidence.

This years’ scholarship recipients are:

Sean Ross who will be studying Studio Art at McMaster University
Jade Boyd who will be studying illustration at OCADU
Felicia Bielby who will be studying Game Design at Fanshawe College.
Jackson Roundell who will be taking Art Fundamentals at Sheridan College
Myia Pevec who will be taking Fine Art Foundations at Fanshawe College.

We wish them all well in their chosen studies.

2018

Pictured Left to Right:

Han Yang from Northern Collegiate who will be studying Industrial Design at Humber
Olivia Martin from Northern Collegiate who will be studying Studio Art at York University
Nicolas Salisbury from St. Pat’s who will be studying Art Fundamentals at Sheridan
Ashley Fewster from Northern Collegiate who will be studying Art Fundamentals at Sheridan

Missing from Photo: Kylie Turnbull from LCCVI who will be studying Interior Design at Fanshawe

To date, over $117,000 has been awarded to talented student artists. They will use this scholarship award to support their post secondary studies.

2017

Pictured Left to Right:
Jack Clark LCCVI, Autumn Dearin NCIVS, Emily Jacques-Hawco St. Pats
Missing from photo: Joshua Jensen NCIVS, Tiahna Humphrey NCIVS

2016

An intimate group gathered for the presentation of scholarships to four Lambton County students who will be continuing their studies in art at colleges and universities in Ontario. Each student is awarded $1000 towards their education.

Gallery board members shared the history of the scholarship, and the gallery’s commitment to education programs.
Each student shared a piece of their art, discussing their motivation in producing the piece. They also told us about the program they are about to embark on.

The student scholarships were awarded to:

Kendra Hoek from St. Pat's who will be attending the University of Guelph studying Studio Arts.
Kristin Palombo also from St. Pat's who will be studying Fine Arts at the Ontario College of Art and Design University.
Caitlyn Waybrant who attended LCCVI and will be heading to Sheridan College to study Art Fundamentals.
Candy Lawton a student at Northern who will be studying Fine Arts at Fanshawe College.

The Board of the Gallery in the Grove wished them all well in their studies and asked them to keep in touch.