Works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program

June 27, 2026 - October 4, 2026

Works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program

Xai Chamberlain, Emilie Kenny, Dhanu Wegapitiya, Nahdia, and Wilhem

Artist-Mentor: Spencer J. Harrison

This exhibition is the culmination of the 2025/26 Youth Art Mentorship Program. Now in its fifth year, this program provides an opportunity for artists at the end of their high school careers to work with an artist-mentor, developing work for exhibition at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

Selected by a jury of arts professionals at the end of 2025, artists Xai Chamberlain, Emilie Kenny, Dhanu Wegapitiya, Nahdia, and Wilhem have spent the last four months working with artist-mentor Dr. Spencer J. Harrison, Art Educator Jeffrey Macklin, Education Program Coordinator Casandra Lee, and Curator Fynn Leitch as they each work in their own way to bring forward diverse perspectives informed by their lived experience.

The Youth Art Mentorship Program is generously supported by LLF Lawyers

About the Artist Mentor:

Spencer J. Harrison (he/him) is an Artist, Activist, and Educator. Spencer has been painting and creating installation-based art for forty years, and his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

As an activist, his focus is on human rights for all who are marginalized, with his greatest focus on youth. For instance, he is the founder of Camp fYrefly, Ontario (a camp for LGBTQ2S&A youth) and has been an Artist-in-Residence with the Toronto District School Board for fifteen years. In this role, Spencer operates an open door, public studio where he has produced many works, including the first painted PhD dissertation in Canada.

Additionally, Spencer has been teaching in the Drawing and Painting department of OCAD University for more than ten years, where he has assessed more than 50,000 portfolios for the admissions to the University.

Spencer believes in the power of art and youth to change the world and is thrilled to be working in this program at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

About the Youth Art Mentorship Program

The Youth Art Mentorship Program (YAM) presents senior high school students with the opportunity to learn from professional mentors to gain valuable skills as professional artists and create work for a public exhibition.

Through the program, selected youth artists receive training in visual arts and creative administration, which can open doors to a breadth of careers including animation, industrial design, architecture, and the non-profit sector.