Welcome to TOLI's 2025 Student Art Exhibition!
The 2025 TOLI Student Art Exhibition proudly presents a curated selection of student artwork that reflects not only the creative talent of young artists, but also the deep learning and critical engagement fostered through the guidance of dedicated TOLI educators.
This year, TOLI was honored to receive an extraordinary range of submissions from students around the globe—each piece a unique expression of thought, emotion, and artistic vision. While we are unable to showcase every submission, the works featured in this exhibition represent just a glimpse into the powerful and thought-provoking creations submitted by students participating in TOLI programs worldwide.
These artworks stand as a testament to the transformative power of education, the enduring relevance of Holocaust and human rights education, and the voices of a new generation inspired to make meaning through art.
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TOLI's Student Art Exhibition honors the memory of beloved TOLI teacher, Kathy Carlisle from Sacramento, California. Kathy was a high school art teacher, photographer, and painter dedicated to illuminating the lessons of the Holocaust through her and her students' art.
The art displayed here was created by students, ages 11-19, from the United States, Greece, Spain, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia.
Behind the Wiremess
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Vagelis Petropoulos
Age 17
6th Lyceum of Glyfada
Athens, Greece
“Behind The Wiremess” is inspired by the deprivation of children’s life and happiness in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Several materials were used for this artwork such as charcoal for the dark figures that symbolise pain, sorrow and the torments that took place at Auschwitz. In addition, I used colour pencils for the flower which in Greek is called “The bird of paradise” and it’s a symbol of life that was taken away from the children. Last but not least pencil was used for the kid whose eyes are painted blue and symbolise hope. The aim of this drawing is to raise the awareness about the effect that this historical event had even on children and remind to people through art that nothing in life should be taken for granted.
Identity vs. Alterity
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Teodora Ghițescu
Age 16
Calistrat HogaÈ™ National College
Piatra-NeamÈ›, Romania
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The drawing I decided to develop was based on the reading "Life after Auschwitz" written by Eva Schloss, where she recounts the experiences she felt during the Holocaust and the one that followed. From a symbolism point of view, I wanted to depict a combination of how the victims were treated by the Nazis in the concentration camps and how they were known among people in everyday life. I also tried to build a sense of forgetfulness. In the last plan of the drawing there are shadows in the form of bars, a symbol of the fact that despite the time that has passed, this genocide will never be able to leave the memory of the victims.
An Act of Hope
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Ella Land
Age 16
Cross Schools
Bluffton, South Carolina
My charcoal drawing depicts how Hanka S. Kent gave Freda (a women who befriended her) two potatoes. While in the concentration camp Hanka S. Kent became friends with two twenty year olds named Freda and Salah. A statement from Hanka, “My upbringing at home was that you’ve got to be a good human being. It was almost like a fanatical type of goodness when you see someone suffering.” This was going through her mind when she gave the potatoes to Freda, who was sick and in need of sustenance. The two women befriending Hanka, in which Hanka returned that favor.
El camino hacia la esperanza (The Path to Hope)
Candela Ianniello Regis
Age 17
IES Frances Ferrer i Guardia
València, Spain
The main source of inspiration for this drawing was the artistic movement of Surrealism. This movement emerged just after the First World War, which served as a major catalyst for the events that eventually led to the even more devastating Second World War.
In addition to this historical context, I am also drawn to the style of Surrealism because of how it explores the irrational and the human unconscious as a means of bringing about change in human life and society.
The meaning behind this drawing is the hope for the end of war and the possibility of peace in the world. This is why a giant brush appears, painting over the gray and dark scenery of war with white—the color that symbolizes peace. This act represents a new beginning and transformation, in line with the principles of Surrealism.
Screams
Anastasia Georgiou
Age 16
6th Lyceum of Glyfada
Athens, Greece
My clay sculpture was inspired by the events of the Holocaust I had read about.
It captures the face of tyranny, stripped of humanity, half flesh, half bone. A whirlwind replaces the left ear, symbolizing the dictator's deafness to the cries of the millions he condemned. On his back lays a staircase which some can choose to ascend, leaving the past, while others descend following the vicious cycle of destruction. Beside this staircase, a mother mourns her son cradling his lifeless body. Atop his head sits a globe, a reminder that the actions of one can shape the destiny of many. Despite all of this, little price serves as a reminder that kindness and empathy will lead humanity towards the right track.
The Shadows of the Holocaust
Mia Boghițoiu
Age 15
Colegiul Național Spiru Haret Tecuci
Tecuci, Romania
Is a somber reminder of the suffering and dehumanization experienced during the Holocaust, it emphasizes the loss of individuality and dignity among the victims. The ghostly silhouettes of people represent the victims of the Holocaust walking towards an uncertain fate, the barbed wire symbolizes oppression, while, the glowing moon in the stormy sky represents a faint distant hope and a memory of who they once were.
Untitled
Nia Metonidze
Age 14
LELPL Tbilisi 142 School
Tbilisi, Georgia
Not Just Glass You Shattered
Avni Khandelwal
Age 17
North Allegheny Senior High School
Wexford, Pennsylvania, USA
This is a charcoal drawing of two Jewish prisoners in the Holocaust: a child and her grandfather. The window in the corner refers to Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. The title symbolizes how in addition to just glass, families, dreams, and hope were shattered.
The Gaze of a Child Lost Among the Horrors of War
Alina Moroz
Slobidsky Lyceum â„– 2
Slobidska Village Council
Cherkasy District, Ukraine
Biruința (Victory)
Anamaria Paușeniuc
Age 17
Colegiul Național Doamna Stanca
Satu Mare, Romania
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Prin desenul meu am vrut sa simbolizez o mărturie mută, dar sfâÈ™ietoare, a umilinÈ›ei È™i cruzimii îndurate de evrei, a visurilor frânte È™i a speranÈ›ei stinse sub un cer fără milă. Steaua lui David, cândva simbol al credinÈ›ei, devine umbra unei condamnări nedrepte. E o rană ce nu se va închide niciodată. Iar ei cu trupuri sfârtecate, dar suflete încă aprinse, pășeau spre necunoscut nu triumfători, ci supravieÈ›uitori ai unui iad pământesc, purtând în priviri un singur dor: să nu mai fie niciodată noapte.
(Through my drawing I wanted to symbolize a silent but heartbreaking testimony of the humiliation and cruelty endured by the Jews, of broken dreams and extinguished hope under a merciless sky. The Star of David, once a symbol of faith, becomes the shadow of an unjust condemnation. It is a wound that will never close. And they, with torn bodies but still burning souls, walked towards the unknown, not triumphant, but survivors of an earthly hell, carrying in their eyes a single longing: that there may never be night again.)
I don't see you, do you see me?
Lavinia Balan
Age 17
Colegiul Național Spiru Haret
Tecuci, Romania
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The drawing captures a child trying to hide from the Nazi army who destroyed the homes of Jews and took away his family and friends.
The visual focal point (the child) is placed in a dystopian space, which emphasizes the fear of the child who covers his eyes so as not to see the devastating image that surrounds him and the hope of not being captured.
Illustrating the helplessness and innocence of the child in relation to the horror of the Holocaust.
Untitled
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Anano Barbaqadze
Age 16
LEPL Tbilisi 142 School
Tbilisi, Georgia
