HWDSB Students Receive 2021 Sharon Enkin Student Award on The Holocaust
Four HWDSB students were recently celebrated for their Sharon Enkin Student Award on The Holocaust entries.
Each year, the Hamilton Jewish Federation and the Enkin Family partner with HWDSB to recognize students and staff. The Sharon Enkin Awards were established as a way to pay tribute to a figure who inspired countless young minds. Initiatives such as Painting in the Park and The Golden Horseshoe Players are just two examples of how Sharon Enkin served Hamilton during her lifetime. Children and education were always at the forefront of her community service and Enkin’s family is continuing right where she left off.
Student Awards
The Sharon Enkin Student Award on The Holocaust was open to all students in grades 10-12. Applicants were asked to respond to a question using any medium of their choice. This year’s question asked: Although Auschwitz was liberated 76 years ago, the lessons of the Holocaust are more important than ever in our world. Why is it so important in 2021 for young people to learn the lessons that the Holocaust shows us?
Winners were celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony held on May 6, 2021. The event featured special guest speakers from the Enkin Family.
Here are The Sharon Enkin Student Award recipients for 2021:
1st Place – Beth Hughes, Westdale, Grade 11
Beth’s submission has quite a few layers to it. The Westdale student chose to design and create a shirt that speaks to the similarities between today’s Black Lives Matter movement and the oppression faced by the Jewish community during the Holocaust. The shirt features numerous symbols, with the most prominent being a fist holding onto barbed wire. The relationship between the two groups reminds us why these lessons are still important in 2021. Watch Beth’s time-lapse video here, where she creates the shirt and explains the meaning behind her submission.
2nd Place – Ivor Hathaway, Westdale, Grade 11
Ivor also chose a video medium for this year’s Sharon Enkin Student Award submission. That being said, this video entry is quite different from his Westdale classmate’s project. Ivor performed a beautiful poem that is delivered alongside moving images and videos from the Holocaust. Ivor reminds us that it is important to “keep that pen moving”, as reflecting through art will always keep these lessons alive. Watch Ivor’s video submission below.
2nd Place – Jappreet Gill, Westmount, Grade 10
Jappreet’s entry is a magnificent piece of visual art that speaks to the oppression of various groups to this day. The Westmount student has embedded many symbols within one larger image of a young Jewish woman’s eye. When looking closer, you will see a teardrop and an arm. These inclusions symbolize the pain felt by the woman and the comfort she eventually feels when the arm catches her teardrop. Overall, the piece is meant to convey the beauty of resistance.
3rd Place – Naomi Martin, Westmount, Grade 11
Naomi’s submission is a conceptual art piece that relates the COVID-19 pandemic to the Holocaust. The Westmount student says that issues can often hide in the shadows and that we must bring them to the forefront if we want to develop solutions. The Holocaust was the unfortunate result of years of harmful stereotypes and beliefs. If this issues were brought out of the darkness, history could have been different. When viewing Naomi’s physical piece of art, a light will reveal a deeper meaning. Hidden words begin to appear on the page, bringing today’s issues out of the shadows.
Congratulations to our Sharon Enkin Student Award on The Holocaust winners for 2021 and to all other students who entered! Your creations are inspiring and remind us why these lessons are still important today.
Updated on Monday, May 31, 2021.