Claire Dean says she’s not an athlete by any means as her D.P. Todd Secondary classmates refer to her as ‘the art kid.’
She’s also a huge supporter of gender equality and inclusion for all, so when an opportunity presented itself to combine two of her passions, she became inspired.
The Prince George high school made a call to its students earlier this year to create a new mural for the gymnasium as part of a goal to showcase Trojans’ spirit and uplift its mandate of student acceptance.
Today (Feb. 24), Dean’s design was chosen out of 13 submissions and voted by the Grade 8-12 student-body, via social media and paper ballot, and was pleasantly surprised when she heard the news.
“The announcement speaker in our class does not work and I also had my earbuds in, so I couldn’t hear anything,” the 16-year-old explained in an interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters.
“One of my friends was like, ‘Claire, you won the mural,’ and I was like ‘Really?’ So I went down to the office for verbal confirmation that I did win and we all celebrated.”
Dean’s mural showcases two Trojans suited in armour and crossing their spears while riding on horses.
The male is wearing blue and the female in red, representing the long-time colours associated with D.P. Todd, along with a brushstroke-styler font at the bottom.
When the call went out for submissions, the Grade 11 student spent hours engaged with the possibility of her artwork lasting for the decades to come.
“It took about a week because I had to draw all the poses, the animals and their clothing, and once I got the sketch phase done, I started the outlining, which goes very quickly after the sketch phase because that takes up so much time. I had to retrace, redraw and redesign,” she said with an energetic emphasis.
“So I thought I could put them on horses and have a female Trojan because we need female empowerment here. [...] I hope we can see empowerment and equality because that’s what I was going for. Like, I didn’t draw one significantly bigger or smaller than the other. As a woman, we’ve seen lots of things where the man is the dominant, but it’s like, women can be dominant forces too.”
For roughly 15 years, according to D.P. Todd Athletic Director Jonathan Lawrence, the school’s male Trojan logo has been its mainstay when competing in Prince George or across B.C., portrayed with a muscular arm and yielding a sword in a circle shape.
D.P. Todd Secondary has used this male Trojan logo for roughly 15 years for its Athletics programs. By Kyle Balzer, PrinceGeorgeMattersIt was only a short time ago, around 2018-19, its female version of the logo was unveiled, which depicts a stern-faced warrior holding a shield, also in a circle shape.
D.P. Todd Secondary introduced its female Trojan logo around 2018 in support of gender equality and empowerment. By Kyle Balzer, PrinceGeorgeMattersLawrence says since that logo was brought to the school, he’s been thinking of ways to spark more conversation, which led to the idea of the mural contest as a step forward to encourage an inclusive culture.
“I wanted to engage a different population that is not in the gym,” he told PrinceGeorgeMatters.
“We can create cool stuff and we can make this a great space for everyone to feel comfortable, to feel welcome and to feel proud of. It’s a dated gym, so we’re trying to make it as updated as possible and make the kids as proud. I want our sports team to do well, but I also just want the culture of the school to be better as well and create that atmosphere.”
In June 2020, School District 57 submitted a $75.3-million request to B.C.’s Ministry of Education to replace the aging school and expand its capacity by 300 seats.
Dean’s mural is going to be put in a frame made by D.P. Todd’s woodshop, Lawrence adds, instead of being physically painted or imprinted on the gym’s southwest corner, making it removable in case a replacement building is approved in the next five years.
So what’s next in D.P. Todd’s plan for equality and inclusion?
Lawrence says he wants to paint an Indigenous logo in the gym in the same circular shape as its current ones.
When it comes to sports, he also aims to make Trojan athletics more open to everyone in continuing that positive-culture journey.
“Next year, we’re planning on athletics, at least for Grade Eight, will be completely free. Anybody who wants to play athletics or play a sport in Grade Eight, there’s no cost. We’re hoping to expand that into Grade Nine as well, so anybody in Grade Eight or Nine, it’s no charge; male, female, our aboriginal population, we’re looking to create positive experiences.”
As for Dean, with this addition to the young artist’s résumé, she hopes to turn it into a career in animation after her 2022 graduation.
For now, she’s thrilled to see her design be displayed for all to admire and be inspired like she was.
“I originally thought I would do it for fun because I like art, but I didn’t think I’d actually win. [It really] means a lot. I’m happy that my friends and family are so supportive of me and they’re very proud of me.”
Due to COVID-19, competitive high school sports were cancelled for safety reasons.
Lawrence is hopeful it’ll come back for the 2021-22 calendar year to the new Trojans mural can be seen by others that visit.
