Alumni

MIWSFPA participates in Culture Days 2017

Wednesday, August 09, 2017 | By dvivian

On Saturday, September 30th the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be opening its doors to the public in celebration of Culture Days! We welcome you to stop by every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for a guided tour of our new, state of the art facility. Not looking for a guided tour? Feel free to pick up a campus map and explore the spaces on your own! Representatives will be waiting for you at the David S. Howes entrance, adjacent to the Performing Arts Centre! Continue to check brocku.ca/miwsfpa for an updated list of events!

Also, be sure to stop by our art gallery to view this exhibit:

Awakening the Spirit

Select works from the Suzanne Rochon-Burnett Collection
VISA GALLERY – Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

Opening Reception September 7th, 2017

An exhibition of one women’s journey to empower and support Indigenous arts in Canada and Globally through a collection of paintings, mixed media, sculpture, and personal objects. Never before exhibited original works including: Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Carl Beam, Roy Thomas, Vince Bomberry, Simon Brascoupe, Bruce King, and more

Samuel Thomas is the guest Curator for this very special exhibit.

For more information about the exhibit and the Curator please see:
www.celebrationofnations.ca/awakening-the-spirit

Check-in closer to the date for programming updates for CultureDays 2017!

The MIWSFPA is happy to work alongside the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in the celebration of Culture Days. Make sure to stop by the FirstOntario PAC on Saturday Sept. 30 between 10 am and 3 pm to check out their free programs for the day!

Tags: Culture Days, culturedays
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events
Concrete Cloud: A Brock Sculpture Class Mobile Exhibition.

Friday, June 30, 2017 | By dvivian
Professor Donna Akrey’s Visa 2F05 sculpture class is mounting an exhibition titled Concrete Cloud: A Brock Sculpture Class Mobile Exhibition at the Niagara Artists’ Centre.

July 5 > 21
345 St. Paul Street

On July 5th, 2017, students from the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will be sharing their exhibition Concrete Cloud, on the streets of downtown St Catharines. Between 10am and 1:30pm students will be transporting their interactive sculptures to the Niagara Artists Center (354 St. Paul Street East) where they’ll be on display until July 21 2017.

see the route map for the travelling exhibit on July 5 between 10 am and 1:30 pm here

Several stops will be made along the route, as students hope to engage with the public through their sculptural works. Everyone is invited to enjoy Concrete Cloud as students tour their artworks from the MIWSFPA to NAC, by paths both playful and responsive, to anyone they encounter. This combination of performance and art walk will conclude with an opening reception at Niagara Artists Center, on July 5th from 2-5pm. The works will then be on display for the next two weeks; the exhibition is open to everyone, and gallery hours are Noon to 5 PM, Wednesday through Saturday.

Concrete Cloud is a collective of works from 16 artists, focusing on themes of information, the ‘natural world’, and public art. The sculptures are made from a diversity of materials, including wood, metal, plaster, cardboard, textiles, and found materials.

Participating student artists are: Rachel Anderson, Ahmed Bader, Renz Baluyot, Christian Bebis, Tom Denton, Syerra Jasmin, Michaela Laurie, Jess McClelland, Madison Mcfayden, Jill Newman, Anna Podvalni, Victoria Ridley, Chardon Trimble-Kirk, Amber Lee Williams, Jiahui Xu, and Jingwen Zhang.

See the Facebook event for more documentation about the mobile exhibition.

Read the article by art critic Bart Gazzola.
Tags: concrete cloud, Donna Akrey, sculpture, spring course, summer course, visual arts
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, News
Brock University shines brightly at the 2017 St. Catharines Arts Awards

Saturday, June 17, 2017 | By dvivian

2017 Arts Awards Recipients photographed following the evening presentations.

The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing arts celebrates the nominees and award winners of the 2017 St. Catharines Arts Awards.

The evening of June 03, 2017 brought the arts and culture community together for the presentation of the awards in a special ceremony at the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. This is an annual celebration of the arts of St. Catharines, a night to say thank you, to honour excellence and to reflect on the many achievements of local artists and cultural
workers. All of this year’s Arts Awards nominees are helping to build a dynamic, inclusive arts community in our city that will thrive for years to come.

The Rodman Hall Art Centre of Brock University was nominated for the Arts in Education Award, sponsored by the Pen Centre. This award celebrates an individual, collective or organization that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to engaging St. Catharines residents through arts education activities.

The team at Rodman Hall Art Centre

Serving Niagara since 1960, Rodman Hall Art Centre was designated a national exhibition centre for the Niagara region in 1975. The Gallery has received seven Ontario Association of Art Gallery awards and two St. Catharines Standard Readers Choice awards since 2010. The talented staff at Rodman Hall Art Centre, led by Acting Director and Curator Marcie Bronson, connect our community with contemporary art through a year-round program of thought-provoking exhibits, special events and art classes for all ages. They are the leading centre for visual arts education and creative expression in St. Catharines. Rodman Hall’s arts education programs promote art making as a healthy activity that cultivates and enhances an appreciation for the arts. Their programs and community partnerships have inspired creativity in thousands of children and adults and helped to develop the talent and skills of Niagara residents. Congratulations, Rodman Hall Art Centre!

Kasia Dupuis

Also nominated for the Arts in Education Award was Kasia Dupuis. Kasia is an educator, artist, mother, wife and arts advocate who blends art, creativity and education. Kasia studied Arts and Culture at Brock University and successfully completed her diploma in Primary Education at the University of Edinburgh. She has led adult workshops and community projects including Art Night events at local schools. Kasia has been spreading her love of art with this community since 2011, when she opened the 4Cats St. Catharines Studio. She has been a part of Culture Days, offers educational workshops with the DSBN and happily organizes birthdays, scouting, and guiding group art activities. 4Cats remains a hive of creativity under her leadership where she encourages all students to “love what you do and make good art.” Congratulations, Kasia!

Sponsored by the St. Catharines Downtown Association, the Making A Difference Award celebrates a St. Catharines arts entrepreneur, arts administrator, arts organization, arts animator or volunteer in the arts whose leadership and innovation have significantly contributed to the growth and development of arts and culture in St. Catharines. The 2017 award was presented to Marcie Bronson, curator of the Rodman Hall Art Centre of Brock University.

Marcie Bronson

Marcie has played a central role in the transformation of Rodman Hall Art Centre into the nationally recognized institution of excellence that residents of St. Catharines now enjoy. Her curatorial accomplishments — both exhibitions and publications — are outlined in her curriculum vitae, but what cannot be captured on paper is the esteem with which she is regarded in the arts community and beyond. She has steadfastly promoted local artists throughout her curatorial career – half of her exhibitions have been by local artists. She has fought tirelessly for the future of Rodman Hall with her nuanced understanding of how it affects community on many levels and her commitment is evident not only through Rodman Hall but also at Brock University with students and faculty. The excitement expressed by students when Bronson attends and shares her appreciation of their work is important to their growth as young artists. She is a remarkable mentor and highly respected by students and staff alike. Congratulations, Marcie!

Also nominated for the Making A Difference Award was Gregory Betts, Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature.

Gregory Betts

The poet and author has been publishing cutting edge literature for 18 years and has released seven books and 18 chapbooks from the best avant-garde presses across North America. Not only is he a successful author, Betts is a genuine activist for the literary community in St. Catharines. Since arriving in 2006 to teach at Brock University, Betts has organized events that have brought hundreds of the best authors from around the world to St. Catharines. Gregory has been a tireless advocate for literature and has helped to foster and create a robust literary community in the city, working as an artist, volunteer, and organizer of all things cultural. His work has culminated in the establishment of a new literary festival of which Betts is artistic director. The Festival of Readers is a three-day literary extravaganza that brought over 40 authors to the city in October 2016 and attracted over 400 people. With this festival, not only has he built a stage for the best literature in the country, but he has insisted that the focus of that stage be for developing and encouraging readers in the city of St. Catharines.

Gregory was awarded the Jury’s Pick Award, presented at the Jury’s discretion to an individual, collective or organization nominated but not receiving an award in any other category. This individual, collective or organization must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the arts in St. Catharines, and cannot have received an Arts Award in the past. It is the Jury’s choice to determine, on a yearly basis, whether or not the Jury’s Pick Award will be presented. Congratulations, Gregory!

Danielle Wilson

Professor Danielle Wilson of the Department of Dramatic Arts was nominated for the Established Artist Award sponsored by Meridian Credit Union. This award is presented to a professional St. Catharines artist in any discipline who has received recognition for excellence in their art practice in St. Catharines and beyond.

Danielle holds an MFA in performance and a graduate Voice Teaching Diploma, both from York University. She is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) teaching voice and performance. Danielle is an actor who has worked across Canada with such companies as Repercussion Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Magnus Theatre, Tarragon Theatre and The Georgian Theatre Festival. She is co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Stolen Theatre Collective, collaborating on the company’s shows The Diaries of Adam and Eve and The Nona which toured to the London Fringe Festival. Danielle directed The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter and recently, she co-created and performed in the original production of The Ash Mouth Man which was re-mounted for the In the Soil Arts Festival in April. For the DART, she has directed Blood Relations by Sharon Pollock, Lion in the Streets by Judith Thompson, codirected Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare with her colleague Gyllian Raby and directed Good night Desdemona (Good morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald. Congratulations, Danielle!

Gordon Cleland

Also nominated for the Established Artist Award was Gordon Cleland. Principal cellist of the Niagara Symphony, Gordon has performed across North America. He has appeared as soloist with the Niagara Symphony (Schumann Concerto in A minor and Vivaldi Double Concerto in G minor with Gisela Depkat), for the Debut Series in Montreal, and with Mercredi Musique (Boccherini Bb Major). He has extensive experience as a chamber musician, has broadcast frequently for CBC FM Radio and has performed on
TV5, the international French television network. Gordon teaches cello at Brock University and is an instructor with Suzuki Niagara and the Niagara Youth Orchestra. He has been a featured performer for the Concertino Program of Jeunesses musicales, whose artists are carefully chosen for their pedagogical skills and their ability to communicate with young people. His strong interest in contemporary and Canadian music is reflected in the repertoire he performs. Congratulations, Gordon!

Twitches and Itches Theatre

Twitches and Itches Theatre shared the Emerging Artists Award with comedian David Green. For this award two emerging St. Catharines artists working in any discipline are recognized, celebrating current accomplishments and future potential. The award is sponsored by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.

Colin Bruce Anthes and Tom DiMartino founded Twitches and Itches Theatre in 2009. The company includes alumni of Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts. In September of 2014, Twitches and Itches began a new initiative called Open Creation Labs (a series of workshops guided by Anthes) that became a way to introduce St. Catharines theatre artists to accessible, yet challenging devising methods. From The Creation Labs emerged a core ensemble that began creating two shows: Once (2015) and Time, Again (2016). Both pieces premiered at St. Catharines’ In the Soil Festival to glowing praise and large audiences. In 2015, Twitches and Itches led a 24-hour play creation as part of the Culture Days celebration, and hosted a free vocal workshop in 2016. Twitches and Itches has just completed its most recent show, The Bacchae and will premiere an original piece, September Songs, this fall. Congratulations, Twitches and Itches!

Jo Pacinda

Other nominees for the Emerging Artist Award include Jo Pacinda and Lauren Regier. Jo has a degree in Dramatic Arts with a Concentration in Production and Design from the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University. Recent credits include Costume Design Assistant for The Fighting Days, Poor and Falling: A Wake with Essential Collective Theatre (ECT). Jo has served as Wardrobe Assistant on ECT’s The Drawer Boy, Yellow Door Theatre’s The Little Prince and The Foster Festival’s Halfway to the North Pole. Jo designs custom costumes and clothing for select individuals and regularly works or volunteers as a designer and assistant designer for many local theatre companies, demonstrating her commitment to her artistic practice and to local St. Catharines arts. Congratulations, Jo!

Lauren Regier

Lauren Regier graduated from Brock University’s Visual Arts program in 2014. Interested in the dynamic relationship between nature and machines, she investigates this subject though photography, video, performance and installation art. She participated in the annual STRUTT Wearable Art Show in 2011 and 2013. In 2012, she participated in a two-week social justice trip in Peru volunteering in a children’s art class . Her experience was later channeled into a performance piece at St. Catharines’ Market Square in the show, Time and Space. In 2015, Lauren was hired by Rodman Hall to provide gallery assistance on weekends, she currently assists with exhibition and historical tours for visitors and groups. Lauren has exhibited her work at various venues throughout St. Catharines including Mahtay Café and Market Square and has been featured in both the Brock News and The Sound. Congratulations, Lauren!

First presented in 2005, The St. Catharines Arts Awards recognize and celebrate excellence in all areas of artistic creation. The Arts Awards seek to increase the visibility of St. Catharines’ artists and cultural industries, honour cultural leaders and their achievements, and cultivate financial and volunteer support for the arts sector. Arts Award recipients demonstrate St. Catharines’ breadth of talent and commitment to the arts. Since 2005, fifty-one awards have been given to artists, businesses, individuals and organizations to recognize their contributions to the cultural vitality of our community. The City of St. Catharines produces the Arts Awards, which are supported by the St. Catharines Arts & Culture Advisory Committee and produced by staff from the Parks, Recreation and Culture Services department.

The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts congratulates all the faculty, staff, students and alumni recognized for their profound contribution to arts and culture in St. Catharines!

Information about the awards, the nominees and the award winners was gleaned from these sources:

City of St. Catharines Arts Awards

“St. Catharines arts community in the spotlight: Awards handed out at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.“ Niagara This Week – St. Catharines: WhatsOn June 06, 2017 by Melinda Cheevers,

“Rodman Hall curator wins St. Catharines Arts Award.” The Brock News. June 12, 2017 by Danny Custodio

Tags: Arts Awards, St. Catharines Arts Awards
Categories: Alumni, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News
Award winner stresses mountains worth climbing to capture dreams

Sunday, June 11, 2017 | By dvivian

(Source: The Brock News, Friday, June 09, 2017 | by Maryanne Firth. Photo caption: “Jessica Vickruck, Aniqah Zowmi, Annika Mazzarella and Grant Yocom were each honoured with a Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock award during Friday’s faculties of Humanities and Math and Science Convocation ceremony.”)

Annika Mazzarella’s university years were filled with many ups and downs, all which contributed to an important life lesson.

When the 22-year-old St. Catharines native focused her studies on History of Art and Visual Culture, as well as Medieval and Renaissance Studies, she encountered people along the way who were discouraging, some even disapproving, of her chosen career path.

It was her time at Brock that taught Mazzarella the importance of striving to achieve her dreams, regardless of any obstacles in her way.

The naysayers she encountered were offset by the optimistic community at Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and at Rodman Hall Art Centre, where Mazzarella always felt included and supported to pursue her career ambitions.

The experience caused her to develop a new sense of self-confidence, refusing to back down from the goals she has set for herself.

That determination, among other impressive qualities, earned Mazzarella the Board of Trustees undergraduate student Spirit of Brock award for the Faculty of Humanities, presented during Friday’s Convocation ceremony — a joint celebration for the faculties of Humanities and Math and Science.

The morning event also saw Grant Yocom recognized as the Humanities graduate student Spirit of Brock recipient, and Aniqah Zowmi and Jessica Vickruck honoured as the undergraduate and graduate student recipients respectively for Math and Science.

Mazzarella said her Brock experience, both inside of and beyond the classroom, provided her with a “solid foundation” to support her future career path as an art curator.

In addition to studying abroad in Italy last spring through International Plus, Mazzarella joined several Brock organizations, including Brock Dance, Brock Niagara Lifesaving Club, Brock Niagara Masters, Brock Student Leadership Network, and Brock’s Medieval and Renaissance Society.

She also represented the University as a student delegate at the 2016 Canadian Conference on Student Leadership.

“With each involvement I had different experiences, however, they proved to me that you can do anything you put your mind to and that there is always something new to learn,” she said.

Mazzarella plans to move to Ottawa this fall to pursue her master’s degree in Art History with a concentration in Art Exhibition and Curatorial Practices.

Her advice for incoming students, in the words of Henry David Thoreau, is to “go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.”

For Zowmi, earning the Spirit of Brock designation meant accomplishing her final university goal.

“I have been fortunate to have had so many great opportunities,” said the passionate advocate of youth civic engagement, who is known as a leader in the Brock community.

“One of the best things about Brock is that it is a small community and you feel very much supported,” Zowmi said. “It is also a place that encourages you to develop yourself both professionally and personally.”

Zowmi is the first Brock student to win a 3M National Student Fellowship Award for her efforts to empower youth and encourage equality in education.

She served on the University’s Human Rights Task Force, was a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Malta, where she addressed more than 700 youths at the UN Headquarters, and was a Youth Advisor to the Canadian Commission to UNESCO.

Zowmi, a National Youth Ambassador for Passages Canada, also co-founded BrockU Talks, a speaker’s series for students to promote their engagement on global issues such as peace and sustainability.

Both Spirit of Brock graduate recipients were also recognized for their hard efforts on and off campus.

Yocom has been a leader among graduate students of the new PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities in its formative years.

He twice served as the graduate student representative on the council in order to provide a student voice as the program structured its regulations and established the format for its comprehensive examinations.

Described as an inspirational leader, Yocom brought students together and has helped to make the PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities the exciting and innovative program that it has become.

Vickruck has demonstrated exemplary leadership in her research group and among graduate students in Biological Sciences.

Her Master’s of Science produced three published manuscripts on pygmy carpenter bees, and her PhD will produce four major papers on the subject.

She has also worked with a research scientist at the Canadian National Insect Collection in Ottawa, a collaboration that led to offers from scientists at several other Canadian and American universities.

Tags: convocation, Curatorial Concentration, HVAC, MARS, Spirit of Brock award, VISA
Categories: Alumni, In the Media, News
Brock alumni, faculty and staff among St. Catharines Arts Awards nominees

Monday, May 01, 2017 | By Nikki Prudden

(Source: The Brock News, Monday, May 01, 2017 | by Alison Innes)

Several members of the Brock community are being recognized for their impact on the local arts scene.

Brock alumni, staff and faculty have earned a number of nominations for this year’s St. Catharines Arts Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the arts in the Garden City.

Visual artist Lauren Regier (BA ’14), costume designer Jo Pacinda (BA ’13) and the Twitches & Itches Theatre group, run mainly by alumni, are among those in the running for the 2017 Emerging Artist award.

Gordon Cleland, a professor with Brock’s Department of Music and principal cellist with the Niagara Symphony, and Brock dramatic arts professor Danielle Wilson, co-founder and co-artistic director of Stolen Theatre Collective, have both been nominated for the Established Artist Award.

Earning a nomination in the Making a Difference category is Gregory Betts, a poet and professor with the Department of English Language and Literature, and Marcie Bronson, Acting Director and Curator at Rodman Hall Art Centre.

Rodman Hall itself has also been nominated in the Arts in Education category.

Seeing that high level of recognition bestowed upon members of the Brock community creates a sense of pride in anyone affiliated with the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), said MIWSFPA Director David Vivian.

The accomplishments of alumni help to reaffirm the work that staff and faculty of the arts school are doing to support the arts in Niagara, he said.

Regier, a graduate from Brock’s Department of Visual Arts, feels participation in the local arts scene is key.

“Some of the best people and institutions in St. Catharines have positioned themselves to be generously receptive of new ideas, artwork and dialogue,” she said.

“When it comes to contributing to the arts community post-graduation, it’s our willingness to attend talks and shows by people we don’t know, or to introduce and guide newcomers — that truly makes one an accessible and valued member of the cultural community.”

Regier is being recognized for her work, which explores the relationship between nature and machines through photography, video, performance and installation art.

Pacinda, a Brock theatre graduate and aspiring costume designer who works with a number of theatre companies in Niagara, has always dreamed of not just starting but building her theatre career in the region.

“This nomination means I’m headed on the right path with that,” she said.

Her recent work includes company costumer and design assistant for Essential Collective Theatre and wardrobe assistant for Theatre Project, Foster Festival and Twitches & Itches.

Pacinda said her Brock experience has helped to to get involved and give back to the local arts community.

“The overall support the school has for its current students, alumni and staff is really fantastic,” she said. “It’s with all this support that alumni are able to contribute and help build the St. Catharines art scene.”

The Arts Awards were first presented in 2005 to celebrate artists and supporters in St. Catharines, while also cultivating support for the arts sector.

Awards are given out in five categories: Arts in Education, Emerging Artist, Established Artist, Making a Difference and Patron of the Arts.

This year’s recipients will be announced during an evening of performances on Monday, June 5 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

A full list of nominees and more information on their work and contributions is available online.

Tickets for the awards ceremony and arts celebration are available at the centre box office by calling 1-855-515-0722.

Tags: Arts in Education award, Danielle Wilson, david vivian, Emerging Artist award, Established Artist Award, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Gordon Cleland, Jo Pacinda, Lauren Regier, Making a Difference award, Marcie Bronson, Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharines Arts Awards, Stolen Theatre Collective, Twitches & Itches Theatre
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News
DART & VISA alumni host session at the SHIFT Professional Development Conference

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | By Nikki Prudden

ARTS AND CULTURE: CAREER CONVERSATIONS

Date/Time: April 28, 2017, 3 pm – 4:15 pm
Location: Plaza Rm. 410, Brock University

DART alumna Victoria Mountain and VISA alumna Shauna Daley will feature at the SHIFT Professional Development Conference for graduate students with their session, “ARTS AND CULTURE: CAREER CONVERSATIONS”. From the conference website: “A modern cultural worker can thrive in variety of careers in education, media and the arts. The reach and satisfaction of creative practice can be the cusp of personal freedom and a condition for seeking satisfying work. How do we negotiate and harness creative energies within professions that embrace those creative forces? Join our conversation!”

Victoria Mountain is a writer, performer, researcher and cultural manager residing in Toronto, Ontario. In addition to her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Brock University, she also holds a Master of Arts in Drama from the University of Toronto, and an Erasmus Mundus Master of International Performance Research from the Universities of Warwick, United Kingdom and Helsinki, Finland. Victoria currently works for the City of Brampton as the Manager of Culture with the Economic Development and Culture Division, leading the City through its first cultural master planning process.

Shauna Daley is an artist, teacher and business woman. She graduated with an Honours degree in Visual Arts, a B.Ed and a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Brock University, and is also Upper Elementary Montessori certified. Shauna owns and operates her own art studio in Grimsby Ontario, as well as a worldly gift shop that supports local and international artists and their work. She exhibits her artwork throughout the region, and her art studio sees approximately three hundred students from the Niagara community cycling through her visual art programs yearly.

Tags: alumni, arts and culture: career conversations, careers, dart, dramatic arts, Shauna Daley, SHIFT Professional Development Conference, Victoria Mountain, VISA, visual arts
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, News
City reveals nominees for St. Catharines Arts Awards

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | By Nikki Prudden
(Source: Brock University Humanities, via Facebook)

The list of St. Catharines Arts Awards nominees was released Monday and our faculty is very well represented! Congratulations to our staff, faculty, and alumni who have been nominated for an award!

Rodman Hall Art Centre has been nominated for the Arts in Education award and is described as a “leading centre for visual arts education and creative expression in St. Catharines, with talented staff who connect the community with contemporary art through exhibits, special events and classes.”
Nominees for the Emerging Artist award include a number of graduates and faculty from Brock’s visual arts, dramatic arts and music programs:
- Jo Pacinda, Brock University Dramatic Arts graduate, works as a costume designer with local theatre companies.
- Lauren Regier, a visual arts graduate, explores the relationships between plants and machines through her photography. (Brock University Humanities featured her on their blog and in Brock News earlier this year.)
- Twitches & Itches Theatre features a number of Brock dramatic arts graduates and is a “multi-disciplinary artist ensemble devoted to creating new theatre works through a collaborative process.” (Their production of The Bacchae with director Colin B. Anthes was featured in Brock News.)
- Gordon Cleland teaches cello with Brock University Music, plays principle cello with the Niagara Symphony, and works with the Niagara Youth Orchestra.
- Danielle Wilson, a professor with Brock University Dramatic Arts, is co-founder and co-artistic director of Stolen Theatre Collective.
- Gregory Betts, a professor with the Department of English Language and Literature and The Centre for Canadian Studies, has been nominated for the “Making a Difference” award. Betts is a poet and advocate for literature. He is the artistic director and founder of St. Catharine’s Festival of Readers.
- Marcie Bronson, acting director and curator of Rodman Hall Art Centre, has also been nominated for the “Making a Difference” award for “playing a central role in the transformation of Rodman Hall into a nationally recognized institution of excellence that promotes local artists.”
Read more about the nominees and the St. Catharines Arts Awards at stcatharines.ca

Congratulations and good luck to all!
Tags: Colin B. Anthes, Danielle Wilson, dramatic arts, Gordon Cleland, Gregory Betts, Jo Pacinda, Lauren Regier, Marcie Bronson, music, Niagara Symphony, Niagara Youth Orchestra, Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharines Arts Awards, Stolen Theatre Collective, The Bacchae, Twitches & Itches Theatre, visual arts
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Department/Centre News, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News
Post-Industrial Ephemera: Soundings, Gestures and Poetics

Tuesday, April 04, 2017 | By Nikki Prudden
Photo credit: Derek Knight

Post-Industrial Ephemera: Soundings, Gestures and Poetics
Silo-City welcomes you to an exhibition featuring artists on both sides of the Niagara River

April 22 – 29, 2017
105 Silo-City Row, Buffalo, NY 14203, U.S.
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 22 from 2 – 5 pm
http://www.silo.city
Click here for directions
Free community event

Buffalo, New York and St. Catharines, Ontario are neighboring cities separated by a river and a border, but they also nurture a strong sense of regional togetherness and cultural kinship. Colleagues in Sculpture, Arts, Comparative Literature, English Studies, Visual Arts, Studies in Arts and Culture, and French Studies at SUNY on the U.S. side and Brock University on the Canadian side will share a common space at Silo-City, Buffalo between April 22 – 29. Coming from different places and practices, we wish to foster interdisciplinarity.

Together, we want to reflect on the notion of dispersal. A concrete monument, an overwhelming structure, Silo-City is also a crucible of ephemeralities – sounds dissipating as they echo up the walls, the wind blowing through hollow buildings, the decay of objects deposited in the empty halls, the temporary presence of others, productive resonances of creative experiences. Is Silo-City a memorial? Silos are built to maintain large networks of commodity exchange for human and animal sustenance. Here, however, the workers are gone; the buildings are exposed to inclement weather; the projects we bring with us will disappear, be dispersed or displaced. Silo-City, despite its imposing constructions, invites visitors to become more perceptive to the transience of human endeavours.

We will plant colourful seedpods, install a neon sign in tribute to the Buffalo river that flows by Silo-City, crush words out of their discourse, scatter mourning songs for long gone lives, bring images, noise and stories from other places. We will capture the brilliance of a moment.

A follow-up one-day symposium at Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharines will document and revive the exhibition on September 16, 2017.

The opening will include performances by Harmonia Chamber Singers, Reinhard Reitzenstein, Lauren Regier, Continuous Monument, Catherine Parayre and Jim Watkins

Curators: Catherine Parayre, Reinhard Reitzenstein

Click here to download the performance program.

For more images and information, please visit the exhibition website.

Participating artists:

ArtIndustria+
Untitled (neon sign)

ArtIndustria+ was formed in 1995 by Derek Knight and Franc Petric, two Canadian artists who reside in the Niagara region. Motivated by the desire to work collaboratively, they have developed projects over the years with a focus on art, research and technology. Underlining their concerns with the dialectical relationship between ecology and industry, their conceptual models combine installation techniques and situational aesthetics to further examine the artist’s role in post-industrial society.

Continuous Monument
Silo Sessions at the American (noise/drone performance)

Continuous Monument is an affiliation of interdisciplinary culture-makers working among design, text, architecture and sound fields. Born from the ashes of a contaminated political landscape, Continuous Monument gathers to spatialize sound and signal in temporary, site specific soundscape improvisations. Monument will perform at The American in Silo City as an acoustic inhabitation; live ghosts active in remnant industrial anatomy.

Akasya Crosier
Likeness (typeface study)

Akasya Crosier is a multifaceted artist based in Western New York. She is currently a senior at UB studying Studio Art and Communication. In her artwork, she focuses on effective communication skills, idealized spaces, and bright imagery.

Catherine Parayre (assisted by Josh Dawson, SUNY and Paul Savoie, Brock U)
Ingrained Words (14 posters: assembled fragments from texts by 33 writers)

Catherine works in Arts and Culture, and in Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Brock University. She is particularly interested in contemporary Occitan literature, as well as the co-presence of literatures and visual arts. She includes her four languages in her creative work.

Catherine Parayre and Jim Watkins
The Silo-Minder (recording, reading)

Jim Watkins lives in Silo-City and is our silo-minder/keeper. His passion for the arts and for Silo-City is central to our cross-border project.

Lauren Regier
Where I stand is fair and square (performance/grass seed & dirt)

Lauren Regier is Honours graduate from Brock University’s Visual Arts program, and is an emerging artist based in the Niagara Region. Much of her work is inspired by the notion of functionality and relationships between the industrial world and the natural realm. Interested in the experiential nature of contemporary art, her practice includes photography, installation, performance, drawing and video.

Reinhard Reitzenstein
ArbreTreeBaum (vocal piece in 5 languages)

Reitzenstein has held over 100 solo exhibitions and over 300 group exhibitions globally, and has completed over 25 public and private art commissions. His work is represented in more than 50 public and corporate collections internationally. Reitzenstein has been Director of the Sculpture Program at, SUNY, Buffalo since 2000. He is represented by the Olga Korper Gallery in Toronto.

Casey Ridings
Untitled Emotion (acrylic paint)

Casey Ridings is currently a Graphic Design student at the University at Buffalo. She is intrigued by the geometric nature of organic patterns; through a spontaneous and intuitive process she creates intricate paintings and drawings inspired by the exploration of her experiences and emotions.

Cody Schriever
Vanity Case / Skeletons of Perception (painting/sculpture)

Cody Schriever is a student in the University at Buffalo art department. His paintings and sculptures deal with human nature, and the structures of its self-perception. By combining various styles of painting and modes of expression he creates a complex narrative of the global condition.

Shawn Serfas
Alloyed (acrylic)

Shawn is an Assistant Professor in the Visual Arts Department, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. His research interests include contemporary painting, drawing and printmaking practices concerning relational abstraction, environmental aesthetics, religion, the landscape as well as issues bordering abstraction and representation.

Lucas Veraldi
2mp (inkjet prints)

Lucas is an artist currently residing in Buffalo, NY. His practice examines the different methods of representation that exist within the realm of photography and explores the truth value that a photograph holds as a piece data that showcases life.

Sophia Yung
Voyage Voyage

Sophia Yung is a Chinese American graphic designer and artist from Brooklyn, NY. Her most recent work involves the analysis of Asian American culture shock, language barriers, mixed martial arts and the role of financial capital in the precarious 21st century.

Jean Zhu
bacteria (video)

Jean Zhu is currently a Media Study student at the University at Buffalo. She is both a photographer and a filmmaker. Her experimental films and straightforward photographs of everyday objects and scenes are noted for their color combination, explicit composition and rich content.
Tags: ArtIndustria+, Brock University, Buffalo, Catherine Parayre, Derek Knight, Lauren Regier, Niagara River, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Shawn Serfas, Silo-City, St. Catharines, SUNY
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News
Brock Professor Collaborates with Dramatic Arts Graduates on New Circus Theatre Show in Niagara Falls

Monday, March 06, 2017 | By Nikki Prudden

MEDIA RELEASE
David Fancy, a faculty member of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, is no stranger to new ventures.

A veteran creator of new theatre productions that explore current events and engage the Niagara Region, he joined forces with former Cirque du Soleil performers Kosta Zakharenko and Christine Cadeau in 2010 to form Zacada Entertainment.

“We wanted to combine theatre and circus in new ways,” says Fancy, who’s equally comfortable in the classroom as in the rehearsal studio. “The fusion of genres really permits some unique opportunities for dynamic forms of contemporary expression,” he notes.

This year, the Zacada Entertainment crew will present a new Cirque Cabaret show, entitled Shotgun Wedding, at Niagara Falls’ 650-seat Greg Frewin Theatre.

Shotgun Wedding features the story of two star-crossed lovers forced to get married by their deeply religious parents. On their way to Niagara Falls for the ceremony they each secretly decide to have one last fling with the person of their dreams.

“The production deals with perennial concerns of love and relationships,” says Fancy, “but also shines a humorous and probing light on issues pertaining to Niagara, including migrant labour, tourism, and gambling.”

Zacada is particularly happy to be working with three recent graduates of Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART) who will be taking up the acting and singing roles in Shotgun Wedding.

Mitchell Allanson, Marley Kajan, and Sean Rintoul have all finished their Honours Dramatic Arts degrees over the past three years, and have gone on to further training and professional creative opportunities around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

Kajan, a native of Welland, is pleased to be joining the company. “All three of us DART grads are super-happy to have been brought aboard to help bring this show to life,” she says.

“These kinds of opportunities for intensive professionalization are gold,” says Rintoul, a 2- year veteran of other Zacada productions.

Marly Kajan, DART Graduate

Recent Zacada show Fancy has written and directed that have toured Ontario include Circus Revolution, a story about Marxist clowns who escape a gulag by means of their circus prowess, and Circus Labyrinth, a piece that explores creative responses to contemporary forms of social control.

For its part, Shotgun Wedding features original Niagara-themed musical theatre numbers with support from a seven-piece band, as well as high-octane performances from over 10 cirque artists from Zacada Entertainment’s extensive pool of talent.Silks artists, contortionists, acrobats, and a host of other highly skilled cirque performances each grace the stage for every performance of Shotgun Wedding.

The production team for Shotgun Wedding is currently in high gear with rehearsals and development for the June 9th opening. The show will be performed sixty times over the course of the summer.

“We’re deeply excited about this new show,” says Vittoria Wikston, General Manager of the Greg Frewin Theatre, “Especially with how it offers national level talent and serves as a unique reflection of the many strengths and talents of our region.”

“We couldn’t be happier about having this exciting new addition to our roster of shows,” says master magician and theatre owner, Greg Frewin.

He adds, “It’s going to be an awesome summer.”

Website: shotgunwedding.ca
Brock Promotional code for 20% discount is ShotgunBrock

Tags: Christine Cadeau, circus, Cirque du Soleil, David Fancy, dramatic arts, Greg Frewin, Greg Frewin Theatre, Kosta Zakharenko, Marley Kajan, media release, Mitchell Allanson, Sean Rintoul, shotgun wedding, Vittoria Wikston, Zacada Entertainment
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Department/Centre News, Media Releases, News
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts Alumni Homecoming

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 | By Nikki Prudden

Event date: September 18, 2015, 5 pm – 11 pm

***PLEASE SEE THIS NEWS UPDATE ABOUT PARKING ON SEPTEMBER 18TH***

Alumni of the Arts and Culture, Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts programs and our friends and guests from the Niagara Region and GTA are cordially invited to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Homecoming and Grand Opening!

Please join us for an evening of captivating artwork, exciting performances and beautiful music. Grab a glass of wine, take yourself on a tour of the incredible new MIWSFPA facility and spend some time reconnecting with classmates, professors and friends from the Departments of Dramatic Arts, Music, and Visual Arts, and our Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture.

Official opening ceremonies begin at 3:00; Open house begins at 5:00 pm; VISA Art Gallery Alumni exhibition opens at 5:00 pm; VISA Alumni Dinner, 6:30 – 8 pm at Gord’s Place, 84 James Street; MUSI programming across the evening in multiple venues at 15 Artists’ Common; Cabaret in the DART Theatre at 7:30 pm.

Affiliated events also include:

Tale of a Town St. Catharines
Addressing the Void

and

Confluence Field Trip #1, a fifteen minute walk from Rodman Hall to MWSFPA along the Merritt Trail and McGuire St.. for more information see: confluencefieldtrips.ca

Hope to see you there!

See the Facebook event by clicking here.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE to reserve a seat at the VISA Alumni dinner!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE for the DART theatre CABARET!

For more information about the Homecoming Weekend program at Brock University, to register for events and to learn about shuttle bus service to the region be sure to visit
https://brocku.ca/alumni/celebrate-homecoming-2
***Please note this event will take place at our new address at 15 Artists’ Common, also known as the former Canada Haircloth Building, in downtown St. Catharines. ***not at 500 Glenridge Avenue ***

Here is a link to a Google street view from June, when our address was known to be IceDogs Way, and here is a Google map for directions to the facilities.

Please see the Brock University Campus Map here: https://brocku.ca/blogs/campus-map/miwsfpa/

We are adjacent to the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre and the Meridian Centre.

***PLEASE SEE THIS NEWS UPDATE ABOUT PARKING ON SEPTEMBER 18TH***

*****

Hear ye! Hear ye! the excellent program for our event on September 18th!

VISA Painting Studio
location: MW 416
4:00-9:00 pm
Open house Exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Painting Studio by:
Brock Jazz Band
Carly Manley
Danny Lamb Trio
Grace Notes String Ensemble
Brock Beatles Band

VISA Drawing Studio
location: MW 406
4:00 – 9:00 pm
Open house Exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Drawing Studio by:
Sabrina Xin Liu, piano
Leanne Vida, piano/vocal
Andrea Nolan, piano/vocal
Neva Tesolin, piano/vocal
Leland, piano/vocal
Melissa-Marie Shriner, piano/vocal
H. Campbell, piano/vocal

VISA Gallery
First floor at the Main Entrance, 15 Artists’ Common
MW 159
5:00-7:00 pm
Opening Reception for the Alumni exhibition
and
Musical performances in the VISA Gallery by:
Grace Snippe, cello
Brody Smith, guitar
Allison Scholtens, violin
Tyler Merza, guitar

Classical Recital in the MUSI Vocal Studio
location: MW 104
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Christina Lerose, piano
Leanne Vida, soprano
Jorgo Kalo, piano
Victoria Hoshowsky, soprano
Negin Rezaei Asl, piano
Caroline Nicole Corkum, soprano and Alexandre Soulodre, piano
Serena Atallah, piano
Erika Versluis, soprano and Tyler Versluis, piano
Sabrina Xin Liu, piano
Leanne Vida, soprano and Jorgo Kalo, piano

DART Theatre Cabaret!
Location: DART Theatre
MW 262
7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Hosted by Cass Van Wyck and Rox Chwaluk
Guests are welcome to come and go.
In order of performance:

Arms Up Comedy: Caitlin English, Jacqueline Costa, Eric Frank, Chris Boyle
Attic Window Theatre, In Real Life: Collin Glavac, Colin B. Anthes, Eduardo DiMartino, Nicola Franco, Hayley Rose Malouin
Piano and Vocal: Lee Stewart
Brock Improv Alumni: Richard Varty, Rox Chwaluk, Brandon Pachan, Alana Perri.
Piano and Vocal: Melissa-Marie Shriner and Grace Snippe
One Four One Collective, Stuck in Horse- Send Help! : Evan Mulrooney and Kevin Chew
Piano and Vocal: Neva Tesolin
MOVE! : Alex Kazam, Adrien Hurst, Jerry Prom, Mitchell Peebles, Caleb Fast, Mikey Henley
Music by Alejandro Del Pino
The Labour of Forrest Nympho: A Drag Birthing: Geoffrey Heaney
Piano and Vocal: Andrea Nolan
Empty Box Theatre, Waiting for Alonzo: Hayley Rose Malouin, Victoria Cutler, Sean Rintoul
Piano and Vocal: Holly Campbell
Garden City Improv: Collin Glavac, Ross Mosher, Jamie Roboz, David Bernard, Hayley Malouin, Jonas McLean
Guitar and Vocal: Aaron Berger
Open Mic!
FOX TRAIL: Iain Lidstone, Marcus Schwan, Brent Cairns, Adam Wood, Alannah Garrett
~the end~

Special events not to be missed!:

New Work in Progress: Addressing the Void
by Maggie Hunter and performed by Abby Rollo, Gemma Bordonaro and Jacqui Noel. (DART)
location: Studio D MW 256.
6:00 pm, 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm

Special Installation of Tale of a Town St. Catharines. Listening Booths by FIXT POINT and Suitcase in Point Theatre Company.
Various locations in the MIWSFPA.

Confluence Field Trip #1, a fifteen minute walk from Rodman Hall to the MIWSFPA along the Merritt Trail and McGuire St.
Artist: Elizabeth Chitty. Participants are invited to participate in this self-guided tour of a section of the Twelve Mile Creek valley. For more information see: http://confluencefieldtrips.ca/

Tags: 15 artists' common, alumni, Alumni Homecoming, Homecoming, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News