World Art Day 2026
World Art Day is recognized globally on April 15. To showcase some of the art in the Athabasca University Art Collection and community art contributions, the AU Art Committee hosted an inaugural world art day celebration on AU’s main campus in Athabasca, Alta.
This year’s event included a viewing of community-contributed art exhibition with over 70 pieces submitted by local artists, a pencil and watercolour art demonstration led by local artist Maureen Harvey, and the winners of the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest were also announced and showcased.
The evening concluded with a thank you celebration for the generous art donations from local Athabasca artists Sylvain Voyer and Maureen Harvey—who both donated a number of artworks to AU’s art collection, housed in the Thomas A. Edge Archives and Special Collections.
Read more about the 2026 event
Ekphrastic poetry contest winners
This year, members of the AU community were invited to submit an ekphrastic poem inspired by one of the nine art pieces in AU’s art collection. We received over 30 submissions, so thank you to everyone who took the time to write and submit your inspired poems—the judges were thoroughly impressed by the calibre of the poems.
The Art Committee would like to extend a special thank you to this year’s judges, Priscilla Campeau, associate vice-president Indigenous Conciliation and professor of Indigenous studies, Dr. Michael Lithgow, associate professor of communication and media studies, and Dr. Mark McCutcheon, professor of literary studies.
Congratulations to our first, second and third place winners.
Stay tuned for details and plans for World Art Day 2027.
First place
Ravenspeak
Kendra Whitfield
They call us unkindness.
They call us treachery.
Claim we choose the battleslain,
dine on their eyes.
We neither sow nor reap,
yet we feast.
We do
what’s needed.
Guard towers.
Guide wolves.
Inform the Allfather.
Feed creekside prophets hiding from sinful kings.
Teach our fledglings
what’s shiny, who’s safe.
Bright mornings, we barrel-roll down valleys,
revelling in our greatest trick—
Stealing Sun.
Cradling her in our beaks,
while stinging smoke scorched our feathers
and sky-streaking embers turned to stars.
We do
not fear.
We croak our stories
to all creatures
brave enough
to listen.
Image: Douglas Fox, Ceremonial Circle Talk
Second place
Moratorium
Brettney Savoie
And she waited.
Her breath, bated;
skin sagged without touch;
hair tangled with roots.
Darkness slowly enveloped her,
a caress from shadowy hands.
Alone.
She shed her skin,
Shaved off her hair,
silenced herself.
In this destruction
she found respite,
not ruin.
Peace, in her skeletal form.
Bones and teeth
piled on the floor.
The season of death
meets the
season of stillness.
A breath of frost;
her skin, snow;
her hair, hoar.
Hibernating
until she is whole
once more.
Image: Robert Holmberg, Hoarfrost on the Roof
Third place
Circle of Becoming
Annpreet Khangura
She comes without warning,
like a sudden storm
on a day that looked calm.
Not the end, just a big, loud change.
Some nights are too hot,
and some bring chills.
Sleep fades away.
Some days bring fears
that end in tears.
Some days bring anger,
rage and uncertainty.
The mirror feels different.
The body feels unknown.
Everything feels a little out of place.
But something good is happening too.
The body is no longer ruled by cycles.
The heart speaks louder.
Patience wears thin, and honesty takes its place.
She stops saying sorry so much.
She learns what matters.
She learns what can wait.
Not alone,
held in the quiet nods
of other women.
This is the beautiful disaster.
messy, loud, uncomfortable.
But also brave.
A woman breaking open, not falling apart,
Finally standing in her own truth.
She comes unannounced
and in the circle,
she is welcomed
Image: Douglas Fox, Ceremonial Circle Talk
Updated July 28, 2026 by Digital & Web Operations, University Relations (web_services@athabascau.ca)