An art teacher at a junior high school in Montreal is being accused of selling his students’ artwork on his personal website (Mario Perron website).
Parents of kids in a Canadian school are in uproar after an art teacher was allegedly busted trying to sell their students’ artwork without permission.
The incident has sparked an investigation of the teacher at Westwood Junior High School in Montreal, a spokesman for the Lester B. Pearson School Board, which oversees the school, told Law&Crime. The school has also received “legal notice” about the controversy which it forwarded to its insurance company, spokesman Darren Becker said.
Parent Joel DeBellefeuille went to X to express his outrage.
Imagine your 13 year-old son coming home from school today with a story that his art teacher is selling students’ artwork online at $94 per drawing without their prior knowledge!? That is completely insane. @LBPSB What are you going to do about this? I’m sure I’m not the only …
— Joel DeBellefeuille (@DeBellefeuille_) February 7, 2024
The artwork, some of which are called “Jacob’s Creepy Portrait” and “Marina’s Creepy Portrait,” are priced as high as $160 on the teacher’s personal website. They come in different media, such as wall art, phone cases and beach towels.
DeBellefeuille said in an interview with CTV News that a student who Googled his teacher’s name stumbled across the artwork. He called it “extremely troubling” and said the school district needs to do something about it.
“It’s unbelievable that he felt that he had the right to utilize and essentially exploit these children’s rights and their artwork for his own financial satisfaction,” he told CTV News.
Another parent said in an interview with CTV that his kids “feel cheated.”
“Is this teacher asking for certain types of projects to be done to be able to sell them? Is he asking for these types of portraits to be done so it meets the market? I’m not quite sure on that aspect. However, I am not impressed at all with this person. I’m not impressed with the school, or the school board,” he said.
The teacher’s LinkedIn profile had apparently been taken down as of Tuesday, but CTV reported that he had been at the school since 2019.
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