New Brunswick students from Saint John area high schools had the opportunity to exhibit their works alongside artworks by professional New Brunswick artists from collectionArtNB at the Saint John Arts Centre in June 2026.

The exhibition was the anticipated year-end result of this year’s VanGo! Program, a provincial program that brings art and learning together and encourages students to explore various themes and express themselves creatively. 

A partnership between the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, VanGo! provides access to professional New Brunswick artworks from CollectionArtNB’s permanent collection with participating Anglophone Public Schools. 

Through the program, students engage with a curated art exhibition brought directly into their school. Guided by an artist-teacher, they explore and discuss the featured artworks in relation to a theme that changes each year. Inspired by works from CollectionArtNB, students then create their own original artworks, encouraging creative expression, critical thinking, and meaningful connections with art.

New Brunswick artist, Deanna Musgrave, has been the Artist-Teacher for CollectionArtNB VanGo! for over a decade. “It is a hybrid role of artist, teacher and wellness facilitator,” says Musgrave, who helped evolve the program, which focused on visual literacy and art appreciation of New Brunswick artists to incorporate wellness practices. 

“Over the years, I developed the program to include more mindfulness and somatic practices of connecting with the breath and body to access calm states and intuition,” says Musgrave. “Through this process, I found that students not only understood the artist’s intention for the work, but also developed more complex readings of the pieces, often leading to empathetic group discussions.”

Musgrave notes that having artwork present for these conversations created an anchor and a safe space. 

“Oftentimes, teachers would reach out to me after and express how students who normally were quiet in class had transformed into a different person in front of their classmates through the VanGo! program,” says Musgrave.

The theme of VanGO! 2025-2026 was “Conflict to Conversation,” which encouraged participants to explore topics of conflict, understanding, and peacemaking. 

“There are so many directions you can take when exploring this theme, from the environmental to the emotional,” says Musgrave. “We can use this theme as a springboard to discuss what happens to our emotions and within our body when we enter conflict, as well as how to shift that into a space of peacemaking.”

Musgrave adds that the theme could also mean becoming aware of our emotional states and regulation in the face of disagreements. “This is needed in a time of discord in our world, as leaders can model both healthy and unhealthy choices in peacemaking,” says Musgrave.

Each student who participated in the program reflected on questions that guided them to consider the conflict in their lives and how it might resolve into a conversation. 

“Common themes across each school were the concern about both the psychological and environmental impacts of AI technology,” says Musgrave. “Specifically, there was dismay at the lack of ethics around AI stealing from human artists’ creations and the overuse of water to cool AI Data Centers.” 

Musgrave adds that there were also pieces about civil unrest, environmental collapse (specifically forest fires) and emotional inner conflict. Each student’s work and themes are discussed in the "Conflict to Conversation” exhibition catalogue.

“What means the most to me is seeing students come out of their shell and express thoughts, feelings, or parts of themselves that they previously kept hidden due to fear,” says Musgrave. “In some cases, simply having someone be present to witness and validate their experience while creating an artwork about it can be life changing.” 

This year’s program had 24 exhibiting students from grades 9-12 from Saint John High School, Harbour View High School, and Simonds High School.

Musgrave expressed how pleased she was upon viewing the fully installed exhibition, completed by collectionArtNB technician Chris Giles.

She described that when you walk into the exhibit, the first work you see is Jared Peter’s “Police” (2021), which is followed by a cluster of artworks by students who were inspired by his piece. “It created a space of honor for the artists who have earned their professional status through years of devotion while also connecting them with the students’ work, who are just beginning their artist journey,” says Musgrave. “Hanging the show in this way was respectful to Peter’s artwork while also allowing the viewer to make visual connections to his work from that of the students.” 

This year’s exhibition included the works by New Brunswick artists Claude Roussel, Géraldine Cormier, Jared Peters, Katie Augustine, Kathy Hooper, Nancy Morin, Shelly Cameron, Terry Graff and Toby Graser.

Close to 100 people attended the exhibition at the Saint John Arts Centre on June 17th, including the 24 students who participated in exhibiting their art along with their friends and family. 

“What meant the most to me was seeing the participating students proud of what they created, confidence built and a sense of peace as they walked about the room. In my opinion, they attended as their embodied selves, having expressed their intimate thoughts, feelings and complex emotions.” says Musgrave. 

A memorable moment for Musgrave involved the students' creation using inspiration from artwork by Claude Roussel. 

“The creation piece at Saint John High was inspired by “Untitled” by Claude Roussel, which depicts dialogue between teenagers at the beach along Cap-Pelé,” says Musgrave who wanted to include a work by Roussel who had passed away in May 2025 to honour his life and contribution to the arts.

The artwork was part of a series of 22 drawings inspired by an 8mm film, created by Roussel, depicting life along the shorelines of the barren capes and diving at the rocks. Within the exhibition, his work represents the key piece of relationship, community, and connection to landscape that is crucial in diplomacy. 

“I had my students view the sketch and watch the film, and each student picked a frame from the film and created a small monochromatic painting,” says Musgrave.

The students' artworks were gridded together and entitled “Roussel Remix”. 

Roussel’s daughter, Suzanne Roussel, attended the exhibition and met with one of the grade 10 students, Jayde Sacco, from Saint John High School. 

“Suzanne noted that Jayde was the only one who chose not to create an exact reference to Roussel’s film but used a picture of her own friends by the water instead,” says Musgrave, remarking that this created connections through time, showcasing that friendship is the path forward from conflict and that shared landscapes are critical to community building. 

Musgrave noted that this year's theme, “Conflict to Conversation,” is imperative to discuss. “We are living in a time of polarity, environmental crisis and moral decisions that challenge what it means to be human.” 

“Our youth are faced with moral dilemmas and cognitive dissonance that I would argue no other generation has faced,” says Musgrave, describing that art-making offers us a way to be present while processing the complex challenges of the world. “Art offers a way to self-reflect, release emotion and feel heard in the chaos.”