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  • Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Art Practice

    Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Art Practice at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor.

    The CRC in Indigenous Art Practice will be appointed to one or more of the School’s academic units, depending on the successful applicant’s area(s) of knowledge and expertise. We recognize that in Indigenous art there may be no formal divisions between visual, theatrical, and musical art forms. Brock embraces diverse perspectives and pedagogical practices; it is hoped that the CRC in Indigenous Art Practice will help foster new collaborations across academic units and assist the School and university to move towards Indigenization. The CRC will be welcomed into a tight-knit, friendly, and dynamic community of artists, scholars, staff, and students that respects, promotes, and actively engages with Indigenous arts and culture within the University and Indigenous communities.

    Review of applications will begin on October 31, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled.

    For more information see the complete posting at brocku.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/brocku_careers/job/St-Catharines-Downtown-Campus/Canada-Research-Chair—Tier-2—Indigenous-Art-Practice—Assistant-Associate-Professor-Tenure-Track_JR-1002413

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    Categories: Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News, Uncategorised

  • We are hiring!

    Two positions available:

    Marketing and Communications Officer

    full-time, this position includes full comprehensive benefits coverage, including tuition waiver.
    closing on August 24. see https://brocku.ca/careers/
    direct link: https://brocku.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/brocku_careers/job/St-Catharines-Downtown-Campus/Marketing—Communications-Officer_JR-1004102

    Communications Assistant (Coop student position)

    full-time, 9 months, beginning September 2019
    tailored for Brock students in Marketing and Communications but other disciplines should apply
    closing on August 17 or until filled. see https://careerzone.brocku.ca

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    Categories: Announcements, News, Uncategorised

  • Fundraising campaign launched for Brock Humanities grad impacted by shocking tragedy

    Carla Chambers Jeffreys (BA ’16, MA ’19)

    A recent Brock University master’s graduate was moving her family from Vancouver to St. Catharines this week when tragedy struck.

    Carla Chambers Jeffreys (BA ’16, MA ’19), was travelling in an SUV near Oyen, Alberta with her husband and three children when it was involved in a collision with two transport trucks on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

    Tragically, the couple’s 11-year-old son was killed in the collision. The other two children suffered serious injuries and were taken to Alberta Children’s Hospital, where they remain. Carla Chambers remains in a Calgary hospital with serious injuries.

    A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by a family friend, and in the first 24 hours it raised nearly $30,000.

    After completing her bachelor’s degree at Brock in 2016 in Studies in Arts and Culture, Chambers graduated at Spring Convocation in June with a Master of Arts in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts.

    A trained opera singer, Chambers has been an example of student success in the Faculty of Humanities and, specifically, at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    “With her opera-trained voice and her master’s-level scholarship, Carla was a soaring spirit of trans-disciplinary and creative inquiry and performance during her time at the MIWSFPA,” said Director David Vivian. “She launched remarkable new initiatives of community engagement for her colleague students and faculty.”

    David Fancy, who was Chambers’ thesis supervisor for her recently completed master’s said, “the community is reeling at the very difficult news of the loss of one of Carla’s children, and of her grave injuries and those of the rest of her family.

    “As an artist and scholar, Carla’s extensive qualities of insight, persistence, passion and generosity will certainly help sustain her during this exceptionally difficult time. All our thoughts are with Carla and her family now,” said Fancy.

    Catherine Parayre, Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture ​and of the graduate program in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts said Chambers is known for her “enthusiasm, her commitment and the brilliance she brought to both programs.”

    “Our thoughts are with her and her family. We grieve the cruel loss of her child and hope with all our hearts that she, her companion and her two other children will recover,” she said.

    Anyone interested in donating to the family can find the GoFundMe campaign at gofundme.com/f/k7uj84-support 

    (Source: The Brock News, Friday, August 9, 2019 | by Dan Dakin)

    See these articles:

    Friends rally around family whose child was killed after SUV struck by tractor-trailer

    COMMUNITY DONATES MORE THAN $57,000 AFTER FAMILY TRAGEDY

    Boy, 11, dies in crash as family was heading to Niagara to start a new life

    Boy, 11, dies in crash as family was heading to Niagara to start a new life

     

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    Categories: Alumni, Department/Centre News, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

  • Enter to win FREE King Ubu Tickets

    Enter the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts social media contest for your chance to win one pair of free King Ubu theatre tickets, valid for any event date from March 1-9 !

    Details:

    • Share a picture of your favourite fictional theatre character to your Instagram story by midnight on Thursday, Feb. 28
    • Must include the hashtag #KingUbuContest and tag @miwsfpa
    • You must follow the @miwsfpa or have a public account to be entered
    • We will select one winner at random from all valid entries to receive two complimentary King Ubu tickets. Winner can use their two free tickets for one performance of King Ubu between March 1-9, provided ticket has been validated in advance of the showtime.

    Eligible showtimes:

    Friday, March 1, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 2, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Sunday, March 3, 2019 @ 2:00 PM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 11:30 AM
    Friday, March 8, 2019 @ 7:30 PM
    Saturday, March 9, 2019 @ 7:30 PM

    Winner will be chosen from all eligible entries and contacted on Friday, March 1 with details on how to redeem their two free tickets.

    No purchase necessary. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received.

    Contact miwsfpa@brocku.ca for more details.

    Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Uncategorised

  • King Ubu coming to Marilyn I. Walker Theatre

    Cast and crew members of the upcoming mainstage production King Ubu have been busy preparing for opening night on Friday, March 1. Tickets are on sale now for the production, presented by Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts.


    (From The Brock News, February 13, 2019 | By: Sarah Ackles)

    Alfred Jarry’s controversial classic King Ubu will bring audiences face-to-face with the absurdity of modern life when the production comes to Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker Theatre starting Friday, March 1.

    Presented by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART), the show is an avant-garde and hilarious commentary on human folly and the dangers of unchecked political ambition.

    Director and Associate Professor David Fancy said Ubu’s references to populism and the blurred lines between celebrity culture and politics are fitting themes for our current climate. Although first performed in 19th century France, King Ubu, he added, offers “an invitation to look critically at, but not disengage with, the current moment in time.”

    The play centres on Ma and Pa Ubu’s bloodthirsty quest to become the new king and queen of a fictionalized version of Poland.

    Between their continuous bickering, Pa, an egotistical and inept tyrant who wields an enormous toilet brush while speaking nonsense, and Ma, his enabling and devious wife, scheme to take over the world through a series of antics that play out like a reality show gone wrong.

    To emphasize the theatrical nature of Ma and Pa Ubu’s political exploits, the show features puppets, karaoke numbers and a giant puppet head that eats half the cast.

    Although the production stays true to the absurdist spirit of Jarry’s original work, Fancy said there is also a layer of introspection that exists beneath all the silliness.

    “On one side we’re being playful, irreverent and sarcastic like Jarry, but on the other side there are also lots of heartfelt moments,” he said. “We can use laughter on some level to celebrate, criticize and escape, but we will also be forced to confront the fact that these are real people having difficult experiences. We question what caused them to become such trainwrecks — and whether we need to have compassion for these people who are perhaps not so different from us.”

    The show’s gender-bending lead role selection also provides a unique twist.

    Ubu admonishes supremacy logic in all of its forms and casting a woman as Ubu helps heighten the critique of patriarchy. At the same time, this casting points out that anyone, given the right context, can engage in human folly,” Fancy said of the distribution of roles across genders. “Everybody can behave like a dangerous fool.”

    All these aspects of the production, combined with intense and moving performances, make for an entertaining experience, he added.

    “I think a big part of it is tapping into the creative possibility of what theatre can be as an art form,” Fancy said. “The experience gives our cast and crew the creative confidence to respond to the world around them, like Jarry did, using their own, creative voices.”

    King Ubu is translated by David Edney and directed by David Fancy, with costume design by Jo Pacinda and scenography and scenography by James McCoy.

    The production showcases the talents of students in the DART undergraduate program, including Ash McEachern, Avery Delaney, Chris Murillo, Emma McCormick, Jackson Wagner, Jasmine Case, Juan-Carlos Figueroa, Lauren Reid, Leah Eichler, Rachel Frederick, Samuel Donovan, Taylor Bogaert and Tsipporah Shendroff.

    Brock students, staff and faculty members of the creative and production team include Kristina Ojaperv (Assistant Director), Jordine De Guzman (Stage Manager), Alicia Bender (Assistant Stage Manager), Meryl Ochoa (Assistant Lighting Designer), Trevor Copp (Choreographer), Holly Kurelek (Wardrobe Supervisor), Diego Blanco and Molly Lacey (Dressers), Brian Cumberland (Production Manager), Gavin Fearon (Technical Director), Ed Harris (Shop Supervisor), Dawn Crysler (Theatre Technician), Danielle Wilson (Shakespeare Coach) and Roberta Doylend (Head of Wardrobe).

    King Ubu runs from Friday, March 1 to Saturday, March 9 at the Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines. Showtimes are March 1, 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., March 3 at 2 p.m. and March 8 at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

    Tickets for the show are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. A group rate is also available. Tickets are available through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office at 905-688-0722 or on the PAC website.

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    Categories: Current Students, News, Uncategorised

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to commemorate the Christmas Truce at first concert of the season

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff during rehearsal for their upcoming performance Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines.


    (From The Brock News, Wednesday November 14, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    On Christmas Day, 1914, French, British and German soldiers along the Western Front laid down their weapons, emerged from the trenches and joined in song to celebrate the season. Now referred to as the Christmas Truce, the unofficial ceasefire was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amid the violence of the First World War.

    To mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff will lead the Avanti Chamber Singers in a performance to remember the truce on Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines. This marks the first performance of the season for Brock’s choir in residence.

    Titled And on Earth, Peace, the concert will include Remembrance Day tributes, popular songs from the time of the First World War and classic Christmas carols. Songs will be performed in English, German and French, and the audience will be invited to sing along to carols that soldiers would have sung.

    “The moving story of the Christmas Truce was fitting inspiration for our first performance of the season,” said Rensink-Hoff, Assistant Professor of Music in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. “As we look back to Remembrance Day and forward to the holiday season, we will join together in song — just as those soldiers did more than 100 years ago.”

    Many differing stories about the Christmas Truce have been shared. Even today, it is still unclear exactly what happened on Christmas Day all those years ago.

    The most commonly shared account is that soldiers all sang carols together in celebration on Christmas Eve before emerging to wish their enemies a Merry Christmas the next day. After the soldiers ceased fire, they met to exchange small gifts and souvenirs.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is comprised of 30 musicians from around the Niagara region.

    Rensink-Hoff said she works with different individuals every year, and hopes to showcase the hard work and talent of this year’s choir at the opening concert.

    “The challenge with a new choir is gelling together as a group — not just musically, but interpersonally,” she said. “This is now my second season with Avanti and it makes a big difference when you know people more closely because it helps all of us feel that we are in this together.”

    Accompanying the Avanti Chamber Singers will be pianist and organist Lesley Kingham and guest trumpeter Timothy White.

    And on Earth, Peace takes place Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti Singers website, at Thorold Music and Booksmart, or from choir members for $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. A $5 ticket is available for students and eyeGo program members.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be performing on Feb. 23 and April 27 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their first performance will take place Dec. 1.

    For more information about upcoming choral performances, visit the Brock University Music website.

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    Categories: Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

  • First-year orientation activities for DART, Music, VISA, and STAC students

    Welcome to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA)!

    As a new student with the school, you are invited to The New Student Welcome and Academic Orientation as your official welcome to Brock University on September 4! The orientation begins at 8 a.m. in the Ian Beddis Gym, where you’ll hear from President Gervan Fearon and enjoy an inspirational keynote to begin your day and kick-start your term. Afterwards, you are welcome to connect with your faculty and upper year student mentors to receive important information about academic supports and resources. Then, go check out the vendor and welcome fair, take a campus tour and to locate your classes, and get an orientation to the Brock Library. * Don’t forget to register for this orientation at Experience BU.

    As a student in Dramatic Arts, Music, Visual Arts or the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, you are invited to then attend the Faculty of Humanities orientation session, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre on Brock’s main campus.

     


    First-year MIWSFPA mixer and lunch

    September 4

    12 to 1:30 p.m.

    MIWSFPA lobby

    Downtown St. Catharines

    15 Artists’ Common

     

     


    There are also several department-specific orientation events that you are encouraged to attend!

    Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture

    Sept. 4:   2 to 6 p.m.
    Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Room 334
    15 Artists’ Common

    Visual Arts

    Sept. 7:  3 to 4 p.m.
    Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Lobby
    15 Artists’ Common
    *This will be followed by an opening of Murray Kropf’s new exhibit, Three to Eight at 4 p.m. in the VISA Gallery

    Dramatic Arts

    Sept 24: 6 to 8 p.m.
    MIWSFPA Theatre
    15 Artists’ Common

    Music

    September 11: 12 -12:50 p.m.
    Cairns Recital Hall.
    For all Music majors, single or combined.  

     

     

     

     

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Uncategorised

  • National theatre conference comes to MIWSFPA


    (From The Brock News, Friday, August 24, 2018 | By: Sarah Moore)

    Professionals from the theatre community descended on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) last week for the 28th annual CITT/ICTS Rendez-vous Annual Conference.

    Attendees from across North America took part in three days of sessions, workshops, backstage tours and a trade show from Aug. 15 to 18, using the unique facilities of the Walker School and nearby Meridian Centre.

    CITTS conference

    Wendy Waszut-Barrett, President of Historic Stage Services in Minnesota, left, and Jenny Knott, Paint Product Manager of Rosco Laboratories in Connecticut, hosted a foliage painting workshop as part of the CITT/ICTS Rendez-vous Annual Conference at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, August 15 to 18.

    This is the first time the bilingual conference has come to St. Catharines, and organizers said the School was the “perfect locale” to serve as the host venue.

    “It was a pleasure to be at the MIWSFPA for our annual Rendez-vous conference in the vibrant and beautiful city of St. Catharines,” said conference Acting President Michael Harris. “The beautiful facilities exceeded our expectations.”

    The school’s lecture rooms played host to courses for theatre technicians on pyrotechnics, lighting and sound techniques, and the campus scenography studio housed several workshops on foliage painting techniques.

    Wendy Waszut-Barrett, President of Historic Stage Services in Minnesota, and Jenny Knott, Paint Product Manager of Rosco Laboratories in Connecticut, said the studio offered the ideal place to teach the ins and outs of painting stage backdrops.

    “The Marylin I. Walker scene shop was delightful, spacious and well-lit; it is the perfect place to paint,” Waszut-Barrett said. “Thank you to the faculty and staff at Brock University who made this possible.”

    Elizabeth Vlossak, Director of the MIWSFPA, said that hosting professional colleagues for conferences such as the CITT/ICTS Rendez-vous is an important part of the School’s mandate to be a strong community partner.

    “We were pleased to welcome our theatre technology colleagues to the School this week as they further honed their craft,” she said. “We are always pleased to share our space with others in related industries and showcase future career opportunities to our students studying similar concepts and techniques.”

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    Categories: News, Uncategorised

  • MIWSFPA calls for donations to revive zine culture on campus

    Learning Commons Co-ordinator Lesley Bell, left, and Visual Arts graduate Victoria Reid are asking students and the public
    to submit their self-made zines to their new collection at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, which will
    officially open Aug. 30.


    (From The Brock News, Wednesday, June 20, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)

    Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) is calling on the zine-making community to help expand its collection of eclectic self-published books.

    The school’s Learning Commons currently has a small, informal collection of zines (short for magazines) that were made by students of Visual Arts instructor Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea. With other libraries and post-secondary intuitions in North America now creating dedicated zine collections and hosting zine fairs, the MIWSFPA decided to do the same.

    Brock Visual Arts graduate Victoria Reid, is spearheading a project to catalogue the zines and gather donations alongside the school’s Learning Commons Co-ordinator, Lesley Bell.

    “I’m excited to be working on this because I think it’s something we’re going to see popping up in a lot more libraries,” said Reid, who will be studying library and information science in the fall.  “A lot of people have become really excited about zines in the past year.”

    Zines can be traced back to the early 1930s, experiencing their peak popularity through counter-culture movements and the punk music scene of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

    The publications, which come in a variety of styles, sizes and cover a range of subject matter, are seeing a resurgence again today and students are embracing the chance to self-publish their ideas.

    “Making and sharing zines is all about sharing your opinion without being filtered and being able to self-publish on your own terms,” explained Reid, who has made a few zines herself. “They are all about freedom of thought and the free sharing of ideas.”

    The small-circulation, self-published periodicals are often traded for little to no money and vary from micro-sized journal-style publications, with hand-stitched bindings, to large, glossy art books.

    Students and the public can donate their zines and Reid and Bell stressed there will be no restrictions on the zines they will accept. They are encouraging those in disciplines outside of the arts and humanities to participate, as well.

    “Anybody can make a zine and it’s important to not put a box around what we’re accepting and what we’re not,” said Reid. “It’s also a good tie between the main and downtown Brock campuses because it encourages people from other programs to create their work and show it here. I’d love to see people from other programs submit things to us.”

    There will be a grand opening celebration for the collection hosted in the MIWSFPA Learning Commons on Aug. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. in room 226.

    Everyone is welcome to attend and try their hand at making buttons and a zine of their own.

    “There’s something attractive and energetic about publishing your own thing,” said Bell. “You are really going to experience something between those covers, it’s about discovery.”

    The opening will also serve as an informal goodbye to Bell, who is retiring from her long-standing post with Brock at the end of August.

    If you are interested in donating a zine, please visit the grand opening event’s Facebook page to download a donation form. You can also drop your zine donation off at the Learning Commons between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, or contact vreid2@brocku.ca for more information.

     

     

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, News, Uncategorised

  • Dramatic Arts presents: Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context

    featuring Lina de Guevara, founder of Puente Theatre (Victoria) and Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre (Toronto), with Dr. Yasmine Kandil of Brock University (Niagara)

    March 16 and 17, 2018

    A panel conversation and workshops on the theme of Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context. This event will look at how theatre has been used to create collaborative opportunities with immigrants and refugees in Canada, and what struggles lay ahead of us to bridge the divide between settler Canadians and newcomers.

    All events take place at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines ON L2R 0B5
    A free community event!
    Registration required for workshops only.
    tensions-of-engagement-workshops.eventbrite.com
    Limited parking available.
    Contact Dr. Yasmine Kandil ykandil@brocku.ca for more information.

    PROGRAM:
    Friday March 16 7:00pm
    PANEL Discussion in the MIW THEATRE:
    Tensions of Engagement in the Canadian Immigrant Theatre Context

    This panel, moderated by Dr. Natalie Alvarez (Brock University), will feature three of Canada’s applied theatre artists who have devoted a large portion of their creative work towards working on issues of diversity, multiculturalism, and creating opportunities for immigrants and refugees to explore their narratives of settlement through theatre.

    This comes at a crucial time, as our society is witnessing an awareness of the insidious racism that exists in our country, as revealed by the Angus Reid Institute report of October 2016. Our panel will discuss how applied theatre with immigrants and refugees in Canada has evolved over the past few decades, and whether there has been a positive and tangible impact that this medium has had on this community, and on settler Canadians.

    Saturday March 17 10:00am – 3:00pm
    WORKSHOPS: STUDIOS B and C at the MIWSFPA

    Workshop STUDIO B (MW 247)
    10:00-12:00pm (Ruth Howard)
    This workshop will explore Jumblies’ recent Four Lands touring project, which brings together settler, newcomer, Indigenous residents of all ages and backgrounds in a gentle exploration of different perspectives on a place.
    jumbliestheatre.org/jumblies/about/staff/ruth-howard

    Workshop STUDIO C (MW 243)
    1:00-3:00pm (Lina de Guevara)
    This workshop will explore the different tools used to do research related to immigrant and refugee narratives: interviews, storytelling of personal stories, image creation, forum encounters, audience participation, etc. Lina will share the tools that she uses and those she avoids.
    linadeguevara.ca

    Registration required for workshops only.
    tensions-of-engagement-workshops.eventbrite.com

    PANELISTS:

    Lina de Guevara

    Lina de Guevara was the first immigrant artist to establish a theatre company in Victoria that solely focused on promoting the narratives of immigration and settlement with the purpose of bridging the gap between this minority group and the predominantly white culture of Victoria. Her work has spread to other provinces in Canada since she began her Canadian journey almost 40
    years ago.

    Ruth Howard

    Ruth Howard is the founder and Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, based in Toronto. Her work with professional artists and diverse communities has won her recognition and awards. Jumblies is known for its large-scale collaborative community-engaged theatre and interdisciplinary arts residencies, projects and productions, as well as its dedication to learning and mentorship in community arts.

     

    Dr. Yasmine Kandil

    Yasmine began her immigrant journey in Victoria, BC, where she worked on multiple projects exploring celebration as a means for immigrant youth to claim a space in their new Canadian home. She is presently engaged in the second phase of devising a theatre piece that examines narratives of immigration and settlement for Brock students and local immigrants and refugees in relation to expectations, obstacles, and assimilation.

     

    Our guests, Lina de Guevara and Ruth Howard, are two of our Walker Cultural Leaders for 2017-18.  This series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these  sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society.
    This education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker. Please join us!

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