News

• Brock participating in Culture Days with events at Rodman Hall and MIWSFPA

  Wednesday, September 28, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The Brock News, Wednesday, September 28, 2016 | by Alison Innes. Photo: Rodman Hall.)

  Brock University will be joining local artists and culture workers in a country-wide celebration of arts and culture this weekend.

  More than 900 communities across Canada are participating in Culture Days, a three-day celebration of arts and culture Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

  Rodman Hall Art Centre is offering free family-friendly art activities all weekend. There will be a drop-in puppet workshop in collaboration with Carousel Players, tours of the historic house and a look at the new exhibition “Houses and Whispers,” by Gunilla Josephson. Rodman Hall will be open Friday from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

  The Marilyn I. Walker School for Fine and Performing Arts is also participating in Culture Days. Guests are welcome to tour the facility, view poster presentations of research from the Faculty of Humanities, and take in the exhibition of contemporary art in the MIWSFPA Art Gallery. MIWSFPA is open Sept. 30- Oct. 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The art gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m.

  Percussionist Devon Fornelli will perform citySounds in the walkway between the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and MIWSFPA on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. In case of rain, the performance will take place in the main lobby of MIWSFPA.

  Other venues participating in this year’s Culture Days include the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre, 4Cats Arts Studio, Silver Spire United Church, Odd Fellows Hall, Mahtay Café, and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

  Founded in 2009, Culture Days is a Canada-wide event held the last Friday of September. Hundreds of artists, cultural workers, and arts-related groups mobilize to offer free, hands-on activities that encourage art appreciation.

  Visit http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/Culture-Days.asp to view the full list of local participants and to plan your culture days experience.

  Tags: 4Cats Arts Studio, art appreciation, arts and culture, carousel players, citySounds, culture, Culture Days, Devon Fornelli, mahtay cafe, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Odd Fellows Hall, rodman hall, Silver Spire United Church, St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre
  Categories: Announcements, In the Media, News

• International philosophers coming to Brock

  Wednesday, September 21, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The Brock News, Wednesday, September 21, 2016 | by Alison Innes)

  There will be some deep thinking coming to Niagara this week.

  From Thursday through Saturday, a prestigious international conference taking place at Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts will draw up to 60 of the world’s leading philosophers to downtown St. Catharines.

  The 41st edition of the annual Merleau-Ponty Circle, considered one of the most significant gatherings in Continental European thought, is being hosted by Brock’s Department of Philosophy. The conference director is associate professor Rajiv Kaushik, whose research on conference namesake Maurice Merleau-Ponty includes the 2011 book Art and Institution: Aesthetics in the Late Works of Merleau-Ponty and the 2013 book Art, Language and Figure in Merleau-Ponty: Excursions in Hyper-Dialectic.

  Brock had presented a proposal to host the annual conference when the 2014 event was held in Geneva. This week, scholars from as far away as China and Australia will be in Niagara for the 2016 Merleau-Ponty Circle.

  The conference theme this year is “Merleau-Ponty: Doing Philosophy from the Outside,” and seeks to open up the meaning of philosophy to other disciplines. The theme is a play on a series of 1948 radio lectures given by Merleau-Ponty titled “Man Seen from the Outside.” Merleau-Ponty was deeply engaged with a variety of fields apart from philosophy, and the conference aims to continue this approach to philosophy by encouraging connections between philosophy and other academic disciplines.

  The conference is scheduled in a way that allows all participants to attend all presentations. This, says Kaushik, gives scholars “the rare opportunity to engage in a deep and sustained way with the research of other presenters, who are generally internationally well-regarded scholars.”

  This year’s keynote speakers include:

  Rudolf Bernet, from the University of Leuven, Belgium, who has published hundreds of articles in psychoanalysis and phenomenology, and authored a number of widely-acclaimed books.

  Veronique Foti, a Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Penn State University. She is a leading researcher in Merleau-Ponty scholarship and works in the areas of European, Continental and Ancient philosophies, as well as philosophy of art and literary theory.

  Edward S. Casey, from Stony Brook University in New York, was the president of the American Philosophical Association (Easter Division) 2009-2010 and works in the areas of phenomenology, aesthetics, philosophy of space and time, ethic, perception and psychoanalytic theory. His research investigates place and space, including landscape paintings and maps.

  The entire conference takes place at the Marilyn I. Walker School for Fine and Performing Arts and First Ontario Performing Arts Centre.

  More information can be found on the conference website.

  The public is welcome to view the conference art work in the MIWSFPA Visual Art Gallery during regular gallery hours.

  Tags: 15 artists' common, Art and Institution: Aesthetics in the Late Works of Merleau-Ponty, Art Language and Figure in Merleau-Ponty: Excursions in Hyper-Dialectic, Edward S. Casey, First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, Man Seen from the Outside, Marilyn I. Walker School for Fine and Performing Arts, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Merleau-Ponty Circle, Merleau-Ponty: Doing Philosophy from the Outside, philosophers, philosophy, Rajiv Kaushik, Rudolf Bernet, Veronique Foti
  Categories: Announcements, In the Media, News

• The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Announces their 2016/17 Season: Breaking the Surface

  Friday, September 16, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  MEDIA RELEASE
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  Brock University
  16 September 2016

  “Breaking the Surface” promotes creative and intellectual activity in the heart of Niagara

  Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) announces Season 2016/17 Breaking the Surface, that celebrates the bond between the community and our arts centre in downtown St. Catharines. This year we build upon the relationship between the arts and the public realm, seeking to broaden the community’s understanding of how the arts relate to urban issues and contribute to cultural development in the Niagara region.

  This season consists of more than 45 dynamic events from performances, exhibitions, concerts and artist talks – on stage, in studios and galleries, and at regional venues.

  Some highlights of the season include:

  • The Ash Mouth Man presented by Stolen Theatre Collective and Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts
, runs Sept. 15-18 & 23-25, 2016, held at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, MIWSFPA
  • Culture Days Open House, runs Sept. 30 – October 2, held at the MIWSFPA. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/2cu8ksl
  • Guitar Extravaganza II, 
Oct. 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm, held in 
Cairns Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
  • In Light and Darkness Exhibit, 
Nov. 22 – Dec. 9, 2016, held in the Art Gallery, MIWSFPA

  Now in our second year at 15 Artists’ Common, we are thrilled by the investment of the community in this incubator of creative expression and critical reflection. We invite Niagara to join us in a celebration of our students, faculty and guest artists’ achievements in the fine and performing arts, said David Vivian, MIWSFPA Director.

  The full program of events can be found on our MIWSFPA website, or you can download the “Breaking the Surface” Calendar of Events in pdf format.

  Stay connected to the MIWSFPA on social media by following @miwsfpa on Twitter and Instagram.

  -30-

  For more information or to arrange interviews:

  Marie Balsom, Communications,
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts,
  Brock University
  mbalsom@brocku.ca,
  905-688-5550 x4765

  Tags: 2016-17, Breaking the Surface, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: Events, Media Releases, News

• Mahtay Cafe opens at the MIWSFPA

  Thursday, September 15, 2016 | By Brock University

  The brand new Mahtay café is now open on the third floor student lounge area! Hours of operation are:

  Mon – Fri from 8:30 am to 2pm.

  Please note that the permanency of this café will be based on its success here at the Marilyn I. Walker School. So take some time on your breaks to get up there and enjoy reasonable prices and excellent food and drinks!

  The location is 3rd floor at the south end of the building (lobby), take that elevator to the 3rd floor (not connected to the 3rd floor at the other end) or take stairwell “D”.

  Tags: mahtay cafe, student lounge
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, News

• Amy Friend featured in Donggang International Photo Festival

  Sunday, May 15, 2016 | By Brock University

  Brock University Visual Arts assistant professor Amy Friend’s work is featured in the Main Exhibition at the Donggang International Photo Festival in South Korea.

  Exhibition Overview:
  A total of 14 photographers around the world are participating in this exhibition, which will revolve around the theme of ‘Heaven on Earth’.

  Tags: Amy Friend, Donggang International Photo Festival, faculty, faculty in the media, photography, South Korea, visual arts
  Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News

• Vivian named director of Brock arts school

  Wednesday, May 11, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: Niagara Falls Review, Wednesday, May 11, 2016 | By John Law)

  The new director of Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts enjoys a “pinch me” moment every now and then.

  When David Vivian arrived in Niagara in 2004, culture was struggling and downtown St. Catharines felt stagnant. Now, both are generating national attention. “It’s a fantastic progression since 2004,” he says. “I can’t believe that we have both a new (Marilyn I. Walker) school facility and new performing arts centre downtown here.

  “That’s a huge jump in capacity for this city, to both hear the stories of others and to tell its own stories.”

  Vivian, currently chairman of Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts, begins a three-year term at the school July 1. The school opened in its new downtown location last September in a former 19th century textile factory at 15 Artists’ Common. With about 500 students, the $45 million building houses Brock’s visual arts, music, drama and culture programs.

  Vivian replaces Derek Knight, who helped oversee the new school’s construction and implementation through its first year of classes. Knight will be taking a oneyear sabbatical from Brock. With the building’s first year winding down, Vivian says there’s a “great foundation” to build on in Year Two.

  “We’ve got some excellent, first rate programs,” he says. “First on my list is to communicate these opportunities to future students here in the Niagara region, the GTA and internationally.”

  He will also strengthen the already crucial link with the nearby FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, and increase the school’s role in the evolving downtown.

  “It’s about finding the right place for the school in the heart of the city,” he says. “We understand ourselves to be part of a larger project of the downtown revitalization. We’re all terribly proud of St. Catharines.”

  Vivian was recognized with the Humanities Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009, and recognized by the city, province and country for his work as chairman of the St. Catharines Culture Committee in 2011. He studied art and art history at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, and has an MA in fine arts from the University of British Columbia.

  Vivian is eager to import new students to help become the “cultural fabric” of the region.

  But he also wants to keep the school part of the Brock community, despite the space between them now.

  “We have a lot of relationship building to do with the rest of the university,” he says. “Bringing us from the main campus has broken an immediacy and a knowledge of each other.”

  Tags: david vivian, director, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, Niagara Falls Review
  Categories: In the Media, News

• RHIZOMES takes on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

  Monday, April 25, 2016 | By mbalsom

  In the Soil Arts Festival will be staging the third edition of its increasingly popular RHIZOMES program — a “choose your own art adventure” — throughout the hallways and spaces of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), at 15 Artists’ Common in downtown St. Catharines.

  The three-day festival will showcase artists of all disciplines with a series of one-time audience experiences, including short plays, dance performances, and sound and light installations. Upon entry, audience members will be directed to “The Hive,” a licensed area where you can grab a drink and sign up to experience the 11 creations.

  Seven of the eleven installations involved in this program are connected to the MIWSFPA as students, alumni, faculty and staff from all four disciplines (Visual Arts, Dramatic Arts, Music, and Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture) are active participants. In the Soil Arts Festival is produced by Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, and run by two Brock Dramatic Arts alumni.

  RHIZOMES will be open to audiences in four two-hour blocks over the course of the weekend: Friday, April 29, from 7:30 – 9:30 pm; Saturday, April 30, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm & 10 pm – 12 midnight; Sunday, May 1, from 2 – 4 pm.

  Admission at the door is $20, however, a $40 festival pass will give you access to RHIZOMES and the other 150 acts and installations taking over downtown St. Catharines as part of the In the Soil Arts Festival. Tickets can be purchased through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office 905.688.0722; email: boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca; or online: firstontariopac.ca.

  For more information on the In the Soil Festival visit: inthesoil.on.ca

  -30-

  Marie Balsom, Communications
  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
  T: 905.688.5550, ext. 4765 |E: mbalsom@brocku.ca |W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

  Tags: Arts Festival, In the Soil, RHIZOMES
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Media Releases, News

• Le Corbusier and the Dynamics of Space, Colour and Design: Art and the Rehabilitation of the Unité d’Habitation

  Wednesday, March 16, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: alliance-francaise.ca)

  Alliance française de Toronto invites you to the lecture of Professor Derek Knight, dedicated to Le Corbusier’s work. On Wednesday, March 16, at 7 pm in the Spadina Theatre. Free entrance.

  Le Corbusier worked particularly in the town planning and the design. He is known to be the inventor of the “Unité d’habitation” (house unit), concept on which he began to work in the 1920s, expression of a theoretical reflection on the collective accommodation. His conception envisages in the same building every community facilities necessities in life: day nursery, laundry, swimming pool, school, businesses, library, places of meeting.

  Derek Knight is an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University. He teaches 20th century European and North American art history, Contemporary Art and theory, and contributes to the MA program in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts. He is Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, in St Catherine.

  The lecture will be held in English.

  Tags: Derek Knight, Le Corbusier, visual arts
  Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News

• Brock prof gets funding for project profiling women animal rights activists

  Monday, March 07, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  (Source: The Brock News, Monday, March 7, 2016 | by Cathy Majtenyi)

  While researching the history of animal rights, Brock visual arts professor Keri Cronin realized that women did much of the advocacy work in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

  She also noticed that, quite often, there was little information about these women. For example, it was common for a woman’s first name to be omitted from the record, with only her married name – Mrs. Smith, for example – being listed.

  That got Cronin and her friend, award-winning photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, thinking.

  “What we’ve noticed again and again is that it’s always women on the ground, raising the money, holding the bake sales, protesting, and it’s usually men at the head of the organizations,” says Cronin. “This is true today and obviously in the 19th century, too.”

  “We thought, ‘all these women are doing amazing work and they’re not getting credit, they’re not being celebrated.’ We want to change that.”

  So Cronin and McArthur created The Unbound Project: Women on the Front Lines of Animal Advocacy, to “recognize and celebrate women at the forefront of animal advocacy, in both a contemporary and historical context.”

  To help make it happen, the UK-based cosmetics company Lush recently granted the pair $20,000 from the company’s North American Charitable Giving Program. Cronin and McArthur have also received funding from the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, the Culture & Animals Foundation, and A Well-Fed World.

  To put together the multi-media and book project, Cronin and McArthur are travelling around the world interviewing, photographing and filming some 200 women in a wide range of professions and walks of life.

  We want to talk about how people in all kinds of careers are making a difference and that activism doesn’t just take one form.

  British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, with a long history of conducting pioneering chimpanzee research in Tanzania, is among the higher-profile women being featured.

  But Cronin and McArthur’s main focus is on “local grassroots women, unsung heroes who make the world a kinder, gentler place for animals,” says Cronin.

  “When people think of activism, they imagine a certain thing: they imagine someone out there protesting or chaining themselves to a fence,” says Cronin. “We actually want to change a bit of that story. We want to talk about how people in all kinds of careers are making a difference and that activism doesn’t just take one form.”

  Unbound has its roots in a long-term project, We Animals, that McArthur created to expose animal abuses around the world. As she did this, McArthur came across women working passionately and unceasingly to end such cruelty.

  “Sharing stories of inspiration and change not only gets people excited about taking part but gives them hope, something to hold onto, whereas my work on the brutal treatment of animals and factory farming can leave someone with a sense of paralysis,” says McArthur.

  “This project about women is going to do the opposite: it’s going to say, ‘here’s the problem, here are the wonderful people working on this problem, here’s how you can do this kind of thing as well.’”

  The duo is into the second year of their project, having already traveled to several continents and connecting with networks in North America and abroad.

  Tags: animal rights, keri cronin, research, women
  Categories: Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News

• Director of the MIWSFPA to deliver lecture at Alliance Française

  Monday, March 07, 2016 | By Brock University

  

  Associate Professor of Art History & Studio and Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Derek Knight will be delivering a lecture on the work of Le Corbusier at the Alliance française de Toronto. For more information on this lecture click HERE.

  Wednesday, March 16
  7:00 pm
  Spadina Theatre
  24 spadina road
  M5R 2S7 Toronto, ON
  Canada

  Tags: Alliance Française, Derek Knight
  Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News