The Meadowvale Youth Freeway began a new challenge for teens that allows them to design a mural that could be painted inside Meadowvale community centre.

The contest opened in December and designs are being accepted until January 20. Teens aged 13-18 are eligible to submit a design.

"Our goal for this project is to create a space that feels more welcoming to youth and that they can feel is their own," said Stephanie Wilson, recreation programmer at Meadowvale Community Centre.

The Meadowvale Youth Freeway sponsors the contest. It consists of a group of local students who meet and plan activities and events for youth at Meadowvale Community Centre. The group is open to anyone age 12 and 24 and always welcomes new members.

The mural will be painted inside the youth and senior's room, where meetings and dances are held. The design can be 8 feet by 16 feet long.

"Through promoting the mural project we also hope to raise awareness of our group and activities, attracting new members to join us as we continue to make our Community Centre more youth friendly," Wilson said.

The group decided it would be an ideal location for a mural representing youth in Meadowvale, she said.

Teens can submit the design at the Meadowvale Community Centre at 6655 Glen Erin Dr. or email it to youthfreeway@gmail.com.

The winner will be chosen on January 27.

For more information about Meadowvale Youth Freeway, visit them on Facebook.

Opens at the Art Gallery of Mississauga Thursday, January 12th, 6 pm

Celebrate the New Year with the Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) and a selection of the best in visual arts in the region at the Visual Arts Mississauga 34th Annual Juried Show of Fine Arts {VAM 34}. The Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, January 12th, 6 pm. Featuring emerging and established artists from the region, the VAM juried art show is one of the region's most anticipated annual art events. The annual call for entry brings in hundreds of submissions each year, of which only approximately fifty works of art are selected for exhibition at the AGM.

2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the AGM, as well as the AGM's 25th year hosting this juried exhibition. VAM 34 is noted for featuring art from a range of media such as sculpture and various forms of drawing and painting. It is an annual opportunity to survey a variety of practices by artists who range from graduating students to senior members of the visual arts community.

VAM Executive Director Margo Sheppard-Hébert:

"We are anticipating one GREAT show this year! VAM is delighted with the artistic response to the call for entry for this year's juried show as well as the stellar line up of jurors - Catherine Beaudette, April Hickox and Art Green. Once again, we have to thank Curry's Art Store, DeSerres and The Andrade Family for their tremendous sponsorship of the top honour awards. Their dedication to our juried show is outstanding and VAM greatly appreciates their on-going support."

AGM Executive Director Robert Freeman:

"What a fantastic exhibition to begin the AGM's 25th Anniversary celebration! Over the past 25 years, the AGM has proudly fulfilled its mandate to provide leadership in visual arts by cultivating the development of artists, particularly in Mississauga and the region. The VAM juried show reveals the depth and vitality of artistic talent in the region, and the AGM is proud to have hosted it for the past 25 years."

VAM 34 is on at the AGM until February 25th.

The Art Gallery of Mississauga invites the community to participate in Walk the Talk | Eat Drink Man Woman on Thursday, December 8th at 7 pm. Join guest curator Tara Marshall and artist Cole Swanson in a guided discussion of Eat Drink Man Woman, moderated by AGM Curator & Director of Programmes Stuart Keeler.

Walk the Talk features a spirited discussion on the themes explored in Eat Drink Man Woman. This exhibition has received attention for its unique, aesthetic treatment of food and the rituals surrounding the consumption of food. Learn about the thinking and conceptual interest in the topic and presentation of these provocative works in the Gallery.

The artists in Eat Drink Man Woman engage with issues and ideas about where we eat, what we eat, and with whom we eat, all in very different, innovative ways. Some of the artists explore the global food industry, while others look at the spaces, places and rituals of food consumption, both private and public. Others use food as their medium to address mythology and politics, while still others play with the traditional notion of still life and in doing so, give us a new type of beauty.

Free event. Refreshments will be served. RSVP 905 896 5088.

EXHIBITION ARTISTS

Shelley Adler, Dean Baldwin, Suzanne Caines, Larry Glawson, Melanie Gordon, Colwyn Griffith, Fiona Kinsella, Laura Letinsky, Kelly Mark, Chris Shepherd, Cole Swanson

Eat Drink Man Woman, an exhibition that explores the role of food in art, opens at the Art Gallery of Mississauga on Thursday, November 10th, and runs until Thursday, December 22nd.

Guest curator Tara Marshall took the title for the exhibition from the 1994 Ang Lee film of the same name. "What is more important than our relationship with food?" Marshall asks. In the film, the father prepares a gorgeous but sometimes less than tasty meals for his family each Sunday, and these meals become a metaphor for the broken lines of communication within the family. Food, Marshall observes, "provides context, symbolism and sensuousness." This becomes the starting point for the exhibition. In Eat Drink Man Woman, food is alternatively context, subject, medium and message, sometimes all four.

The artists in Eat Drink Man Woman engage with issues and ideas about where we eat, what we eat, and with whom we eat, all in very different, innovative ways. Some of the artists explore the global food industry, while others look at the spaces, places and rituals of food consumption, both private and public. Others use food as their medium to address mythology and politics, while still others play with the traditional notion of still life and in doing so, give us a new type of beauty.

Among the pieces in this exhibition are artist Fiona Kinsella's cake sculptures, created from royal icing, glass, human hair and earrings and utensils, and Melanie Gordon's Tea Junction, a chromosome C-print of a woman drinking tea in a wooden folding chair on a field by a busy road. Artist Cole Swanson's Del Monte Wrapped Bananas is an opaque watercolour miniature of a monkey contemplating a plastic bag of bananas. In its many different forms, from painting and video to sculpture and photography, the artwork in this exhibition engages with the changing role of food in contemporary society and in contemporary art.

ARTISTS

Shelley Adler, Dean Baldwin, Suzanne Caines, Larry Glawson, Melanie Gordon, Colwyn Griffith, Fiona Kinsella, Laura Letinsky, Kelly Mark, Chris Shepherd, Cole Swanson

EVENTS

Walk the Talk | Thursday, Dec 8 | 7 pm

Join guest curator Tara Marshall in a spirited conversation with artist Cole Swanson on an informal gallery walk through moderated by AGM Curator & Director of Programmes Stuart Keeler. Eat Drink Man Woman has received much attention for its unique twist on food rituals through art. Come meet the curator and one of the artists. Learn about the thinking and conceptual interest in the topic and presentation of these provocative works in the Gallery. FREE event!

The Lakeshore Art Trail is celebrating its 12th anniversary with an open invitation to the hundreds of visitors who yearly view the diversity of our artwork. Each artist's work is unique and together we offer a variety of styles, media and subjects to engage the public.

The tour takes place on Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday Oct. 16, 2011, from 10am to 5pm daily, and runs through Port Credit to Clarkson. There are free stops at studios, homes and at the historic Benares and Bradley House Museums.

Well into its second decade, the Lakeshore Art Trail is a story of determination and personal commitment by Mississauga artists to bring their work to a wide audience in their own neighbourhood.... Hurontario on the east, Southdown Rd on the west and from the QEW to Lakeshore Rd.

Our 23 participating artists are pleased to offer a wide selection of original art for everyone. A free draw is also offered by individual artists at each stop. We invite you to come out, explore and help us celebrate our annual "Trail of Art".

For a trail map an information, please see www.lakeshorearttrail.com or contact - Carole Woodward (905) 823-3010 or cgwoodward@rogers.com

A clay and glass exhibit and works from the permanent art collection will be on display at the Art Gallery of Mississauga from Thursday, September 15th, at 6 pm to Sunday, November 6th.

Fireworks 2011 is a celebratory exhibition of hand crafted works in clay and glass, organized by FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association. The tradition of Fireworks exhibitions started over 35 years ago. Fireworks is a travelling juried exhibition that has come to symbolize the best in contemporary clay and glass FUSION's members have to offer. The biennial call for entry invites participation from across the province of Ontario and beyond.

The Urban/Rural Divide features selected prints, paintings and photographs from the Art Gallery of Mississauga's permanent art collection and explores the many facets of urban and rural life. City life is often held up in contrast to rural living, but urban encroachment, technological change and environmental awareness have all helped to blur the line between the urban/rural divide. Urban/Rural Divide examines both the myths and realities of cities and rural spaces and the increasingly ambiguous relationship between them.

Fireworks 2011 and The Urban/Rural Divide will be at the Art Gallery of Mississauga until November 6th. Admission to the Gallery is free. Visit the AGM's website at www.artgalleryofmississauga.com for more information.

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 21st, 6:00 pm
A free shuttle bus will depart from the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St W, Toronto) at 7 pm to the reception. There will be an informal talk by curator Elizabeth Underhill

The word "commons" is often used to describe familiar public spaces such as our city squares and recreational parks. The artists of Meet us on the commons seek to explore these built environments as well as the people who define them. These shared spaces, limited by barriers of usage, are rectified by the defiant actions of degenerate youth who establish these spaces as shared gathering places that welcome play, discovery and belonging. Works in the exhibition investigate the role these youth play in forming and opening up the commons for all.

This exhibition features works in a range of media including performance, sculpture, video and interactive works. Meet us on the commons features such emerging artists as Sarah Febbraro, Serena Lee in dialogue with Anna Okrasko, Derek Liddington, Nathalie Quagliotto, Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Mariangela Piccione, Stacey Sproule, and the Department of Unusual Certainties. Guests are invited to imagine and participate in a variety of collective experiences of youth throughout the built environment, natural settings, and online networks, and are asked to examine the relationship between the creation of shared spaces and public agency. By investigating youth-activated commons, these artists have created playful and inquisitive works that question and propose a slate of welcoming alternatives and uses of our public spaces, which encourage difference, dialogue and discovery.

Students in kindergarten to grade 8 from 24 schools across the Peel District School Board will participate in Visual Voices - Through Our Eyes, an arts display at the Living Arts Centre from June 4, 2011 to May 27, 2012. The elementary art exhibition encourages students to express diversity in media, nature, race, gender and faith through visual arts. Approximately 40 art pieces will be on display.

"The exhibit provides students with a unique opportunity to showcase their creativity while celebrating the diverse cultures that make up the vibrant community of Peel," says Kelly Dever, instructional coordinator for the arts, health and physical education. "We're grateful to the Living Arts Centre for providing such an exceptional venue for our young artists to share their artwork with family, friends and the public."

The following Peel board schools are contributing to the exhibit:

Caledon:

• Allan Drive Middle School

Brampton:

• Agnes Taylor Public School
• Balmoral Senior Public School
• Copeland Public School
• Edenbrook Hill Public School
• Greenbriar Senior Public School
• Kingswood Drive Public School
• Ridgeview Public School
• R.H. Lagerquist Senior Public School

Mississauga:

• Allan A. Martin Sr. Public School
• David Leeder Middle School
• Fairview Public School
• Fairwind Senior Public School
• Garthwood Park Public School
• Glenhaven Senior Public School
• Homelands Senior Public School
• Lisgar Middle School
• Queen Elizabeth Senior Public School
• Riverside Public School
• Ruth Thompson Middle School
• Sherwood Mills Public School
• The Valleys Senior Public School
• The Woodlands School
• Thomas Street Middle School

The opening reception for Visual Voices - Through Our Eyes will be held at 7 p.m. on June 15 in the Laidlaw Hall of the Living Arts Centre. The displays are open to the public and all are welcome to attend-admission is free. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday to Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The Living Arts Centre is located at 4141 Living Arts Drive in Mississauga.