When art and education programs are integrated, they can provide students and teachers with a rich canvas to help communicate the diversity of the human spirit, and inspire a better understanding for empathy in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
With art and education intertwined, UWinnipeg presents the EDI Collective Exhibition in conjunction with the Faculty of Education hosting the 2026 Western Canadian Association for Student Teaching (WestCAST) conference on campus. The exhibit will run during the conference, February 19-20 at The HIVE, Lockhart Hall with an opening reception on Thursday, February 19 at 4 p.m.
Coordinated by Dr. Farra Yasin, BIPOC and Ally preservice teachers were invited to submit a visual piece that reflects support for equity, diversity and/or inclusion in education for the Exhibition.
Dr. Yasin wanted to contribute to WestCAST and collaborate with her colleagues Latika Raisinghani and Jake Bergen, in the Faculty of Education, who are collaborating on the installation, and mentorship for exhibit.
The approach offers an arts-based opportunity for exploring issues around EDI in education.
Farra Yasin
“The approach offers an arts-based opportunity for exploring issues around EDI in education,” shared Dr. Yasin. “The installation applies inclusive based strategies to encourage greater interaction and accessibility to participants who were provided special training and mentorship on equity leadership and inclusive approaches to arts-based education.”
The installation day was a key point in the collective building on BIPOC networking, allyship, interracial collaboration and navigating organizational culture in ways that make space for equity work.
Sage Dahl is graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Education. She submitted her piece, titled Everything that I am is Everything That I am Not, was inspired to share her experiences that affected her ability to thrive during her childhood.
“I was inspired to include my work in the collective because it felt like the right time to put myself out there, since I’ll be graduating this June,” shared Dahl. “I feel that I have grown and found parts of myself that I was looking for during my university career. Being able to express a lot of the challenges I’ve been facing in a critical space felt intentional and meant to be.”
Seven Generations: Science, Identity, and Interconnected Ways of Knowing
Shantol Sheppard has a piece in the exhibit, titled Seven Generations: Science, Identity, and Interconnected Ways of Knowing was inspired by the Indigenous Seven Generations and The Seven Teachings.
Shaped by her grandparents in Trinidad and Tobago, Sheppard learned resilience, storytelling, tradition, and faith. Sheppard is in her fourth year of the UWinnipeg Education Centre WEC program, completing her after-degree in education.
Sheppard describes her piece in the exhibit as a seven by seven structure that represents continuity, past, present, and future existing in relationship with one another.
“The twisted elements woven throughout the piece symbolize life’s paths not straight, not simple, but intentional,” said Sheppard. “They reflect the journeys my ancestors made, the ways they laid their foundations, and the strength required to endure and build in new lands.”
Sheppard already has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the UManitoba and wants to obtain a PhD in education.
Dr. Farra Yasin is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at UWinnipeg. She is an institutional ethnographer who focuses on research in literacy, policy enactment and teacher practice, and is part of the BIPOC Network on campus.
