Each year, hundreds of emerging artists attend the Corn Hill festival, and each year some of those artists are placed in the spotlight. For 2019, one of those artists taking center stage is Princewill Robinson.

Three years ago in a homeless shelter, art was about one of the only things Robinson had.

“If I’m helpless, if I’m in pain, if I’m not feeling happy, if I hold the brush and the paint, I focus and I’m happy,” Robinson said.

He originally came to Canada and then the U.S. from Nigeria to play basketball, but says he was used and abandoned; left without a home for three months.

“It was a scary situation because I didn’t know nothing about the United States," Robinson said. "So that was my first month, two months. And I didn’t know anybody, no phone.”

But when his now godfather saw him and his art, things changed.

“He was like, you’re doing an awesome job," Robinson said. "You can’t be over here, you’ve got to use this.”

He was given a home, returned to Nigeria to finish his schooling, and is now back in America working while pursuing what he loves.

“I’m trying to express that you should treat people right," Robinson said. "No matter how they look, how they feel, treat them right, treat them as your own.”

His wife Jaliyah Robinson calls his work powerful.

“The painting speaks for itself. The expressions and the people he chooses to paint, it’s a powerful statement within the image,” Jaliyah said.

She was there all day at his side, with their eight-month-old son.

“I’m so grateful, like, so grateful to God," Robinson said. "He has done a lot. I tell you man, He works.”