Creative reflection contest

Black History Month Creative Reflection Contest

Every year, we invited Sheridan students to submit a creative reflection - through visual art, multimedia, or creative writing - that reflects on Black history and excellence as an opportunity to share and celebrate the diverse voices in our community. This year we invite you to share your reflection on our 2024 focus:

Finding Home: Belonging & Community

Share Your reflection

Feeling inspired to share your own reflection? Submit below!

As a member of this diverse community, we invite you to submit any piece of work that shares your experience and reflection on black history. This reflection offers students the opportunity to express and share all aspects of their diverse Black experiences: the joy, the triumph, and the resilience and powerful stories that shape both their personal and collective journey in this world.

Reflections can be through:

Or another medium through which you would like to express your reflection.

Creative writing
Painting
Photography

Illustration

Multimedia
Poetry

Previous Winners

Sheridan Student Union has selected Creative Reflection Contest Winners since 2021, with a new prompt each year. Our 2023 Black History Month Creative Contest Winners are currently featured in the B-Wing at our Trafalgar Campus.

In recognition of Black History, SSU are proud to introduce
your 2023 Contest Winners:

2023 Multi-Media Selections

Christo Tandyo ‘Skin Crayons’ - 1st Place Winner

“I love to develop my voice to tell stories from different cultures and different perspectives. Especially in social, and political topics. My goal as an artist is to hopefully use my art to spread awareness. This project Skin Crayons was a project I did in collaboration with my High School friends. We wrote this poem, and I illustrate it and made an animated piece out of it.”

2023 Visual Selections

‘Coexisting in Unity’ by Anaum Shafi - 1st Place Winner

“The clock represents the dark history between the different races and the plant represents the growth in spite of it. Diverse backgrounds, reconciling their pasts, and finding commonalities which serve as a foundation for friendship. A friendship without judgment or thoughts of exclusion and discrimination. This piece reinforces the idea that racism is taught and in order to abolish it we need to start by unlearning our misconceptions regarding different cultures.”

‘Beauty Salon’ by Rubiat Fusigboye - 2nd Place Winner

“In this artwork, I layered two distinct pieces that represent different cultural settings and scenes, each highlighting the richness and diversity of Black culture. One piece showcases the roots of Nigeria with its cultural setting and colourful print, while the other features common North American architecture and scenes from impactful movies like "Beauty Shop”

By bringing these two styles together in one piece, I aimed to bridge the gap between different cultural experiences and celebrate the commonalities that unite us as a global Black community.”

2023 Creative Writing Selections

‘ACCEPT AND EMBRACE’ by Puneet Kaur - 1st Place Winner
‘Skin Deep’ by Nicole Madrara-Maku - 2nd Place Winner

Congrats to the winners and participants of the 2023 Black History Month Creative Contest. We are so thankful for your creativity and dedication to this reflection and look forward to sharing more opportunities in the future!

1st place: Visual Winner, Work the Dream A dark skinned Black person with a red headscarf and yellow sweater sitting at a black desk reading a book. Next to the person is a stack of books that say: You Can Do It, If you can Dream It. in the backgr

2nd place: Visual Winner, Embrace by Aisha Momoh An illustration of an elder Black woman smiling with two younger Black people smiling and looking up at the elder. The person on the right has a red and brown checkered scarf, the person on the right

1ST PLACE: Creative Writing Queens Redefined Emmanuel Uchenna Madueke. The Black women, There is nothing above her. She was created all so divinely, Flawless within her imperfection. Perfection, Sher is the highest form of beauty known to mank

Learning and Unlearning: A Commitment to Progress Black history month…notably the shortest month of the year. What is being black? Being black in our generation, it has become a trend, it is a fade, a fashion statement. Everyone wants to be black,

2022 presented a powerful opportunity for us – individually and collectively – to build upon the evolution of the previous two years and envision dynamic futures grounded in hope, futures realized by all members of our community. “Imagining Futures,” illustrates Sheridan’s commitment to considering how a better tomorrow may look, while also acknowledging the plurality of imagined future(s).
The events of 2020 reinforced the importance of educating ourselves on our privileges and perceptions, the need for reflection and difficult conversations around race and bias, and that it’s vital to offer and seek support when we need it.
Our world is changing. As an educational institution, Sheridan’s role is to create a safe and inclusive space for our community members to learn, grow and navigate this transformation.