The second annual Painted Paddle Art Exhibit in support of the Downtown Green Team launched this month with 33 new pieces – including a submission from the Colleges of Trent University.

Trent University’s five collegiate communities have unique identities and architecture. They each provide a feeling of home, a place to grow friendships, space for students to live, work, and study, alongside college traditions, colours, scarves, and mascots.

While the Trent Colleges have some friendly rivalry, they are all part of a wider Trent family, which came together to work together on the Painted Paddle project.

The Painted Paddle self-guided outdoor exhibit consists of 33 paddle art installations in downtown Peterborough. During the month of March, Peterborough locals are able to tour the exhibits by visiting a number of storefront windows scattered throughout the downtown, as part of an art crawl experience.

This years’ submission from the colleges

The Colleges of Trent University contributed to a vibrantly painted paddle that showcases the natural beauty of our campus and the spirit and individuality of all five Colleges, while also reflecting our united community spirit. The paddle even features the collegiate mascots.

"Gzowski College had a chance to contribute to the first paddle project in 2021,” said Dr. Melanie Buddle, principal of Peter Gzowski College. “It was so much fun that this year, we decided to involve all five colleges. We put out a call for artists and got a great response." 

Student artists Cameron Ewing (Traill College), Kat Gatley (Gzowski College), Divya Verma (Lady Eaton College), Grace Gardner (Otonabee College) Cindy Zhang (Champlain College) and Heather Schweighardt (Champlain College) had a unique challenge: to add their own artistic flair and imagery to a group project, without seeing a full design in advance. 

“It was my first-time painting something for the public to see,” said Divya Verma, a fourth-year biomedical science student. “It felt great to contribute to a great cause and I can’t wait to see the finished product in a downtown window."

Professor Buddle added, "They have created something really special, and I hope you'll walk the downtown core to see if you can find the Trent paddle on display - or better yet, bid on our paddle in the online auction."

Exhibition paddles, including the Trent Colleges paddle, will be available for auction from March 11 at 8 p.m. until March 25 at 8 p.m. All proceeds raised through the online auction will support the Downtown Green Team, a DBIA partnership with the One City Employment Program to create a downtown horticultural crew and create two seasonal positions for people who are experiencing barriers to traditional employment.

To participate in a self-guided tour of the Painted Paddle, community members can access a full map of paddle exhibit full map of paddle exhibit locations by visiting the Love For The Boro website. To see photos of the paddle, visit Trent's Instagram page.