Toronto family showcases five-year-old daughter's artwork on World Down Syndrome Day
A dozen hand-drawn, and sometimes abstract, pieces of art are on display in west-end Toronto. The gallery debut is a major upgrade for the artist -- whose usual canvases include her parent’s hallways and refrigerator.
Five-year-old Olly Sardelic, who was born with Down Syndrome, picked up the craft during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as her father explains it, she quickly produced a number of works.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“We were indoors so much and as an activity we took on drawing as sort of a daily routine and she really took to it,” Tom Sardelic told CTV News Toronto.
Her creations, some of which are bursting with colour and others strictly monochromatic, feature images of flowers, family, birds, and ice cream in an almost neo-expressionist style.
On Tuesday, Sardelic’s parents unveiled a dozen of those pieces at a small studio in the city’s Queen West neighbourhood to mark World Down Syndrome Day.
“We just want her to sort of experience it without it being tainted by the parents,” Tom said. “We thought, this is perfect, we could exhibit her work. We’ve been stockpiling it for so many years now.”
Five-year-old Olly Sardelic is seen amongst her drawings in Toronto on March 21, 2023.
Sardelic’s grandfather, a creative in his own right as an acclaimed sculptor and painter, was there for Tuesday’s show and celebrated his granddaughter’s talents.
“She’s discovering her ability. To us, she’s incredible,” Ante Sardelic said.
The solo exhibition is on now until April 1.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Scott Lightfoot
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.