News

• Two new exhibits open at Rodman Hall, including the work of curator and alumna Emma German

  Monday, January 29, 2018 | By dtemprile

  

  Always Vessels, an exhibit by nine contemporary Indigenous artists, runs Jan. 27 to March 11 at Rodman Hall. Pictured is Nadya Kwandibens’ work — Emergence Series: Sugar Bush Sessions.

  (Source: The Brock News | Friday Jan. 26, 2018 by Alison Innes)

  The works of nine Indigenous artists will be featured in one of two new exhibits opening at Rodman Hall Art Centre on Saturday, Jan. 27.

  Curated by Alexandra Kahsenni:io Nehwegahbow, Always Vessels features nine contemporary Anishinaabek and Haudenosaunee artists who express their art through a range of media, from beads to photography.

  Using a blend of traditional and modern approaches, the artists explore the processes of learning, making and analyzing how knowledge is transferred and made. The work, informed by contemporary translation of traditional knowledge, offers insight into the range of skills, techniques and knowledge unique to Anishinaabek and Haudenosaunee cultures.

  The exhibit explores how belongings and possessions are meaningful objects that have the ability to carry, hold and transmit memory across time and space.

  Nahwegahbow will speak about the exhibit Saturday at 2:30 p.m. as part of Rodman’s Hot Talk series.

  Also opening on Saturday is Up close and in motion, an exhibit from Rodman’s permanent collection of nearly 1,000 works dating back three centuries. Curated by Brock alumna Emma German (BA ’14), the year-long, regularly changing exhibit will highlight the collection’s purpose as a tool for research, study and interpretation.

  The first installation of this exhibit focuses on recent acquisitions of contemporary Canadian art, many of which will be displayed for the first time.

  What: New exhibits opening: Always Vessels and Up close and in motion.

  Where: Rodman Hall Art Centre

  When: Saturday, Jan. 27, 2 p.m.

  Tags: Alumna, Brock University, Emma German, Exhibit, exhibition, miwsfpa, rodman hall, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Up close and in motion, VISA, visual arts
  Categories: Alumni, Events, In the Media, News

• Dramatic Arts presents: The State of Our Art: Drama in Education and Applied Theatre in Ontario

  Thursday, January 04, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  The Department of Dramatic Arts, Brock University and the Walker Cultural Leader Series presents:

  The Second Drama in Education and Applied Theatre Symposium.

  January 26 and 27, 2018

  Our world as we know it is rapidly changing, with scholars identifying present events as ‘post-normal’ (O’Connor and Anderson 2015). In this climate of anxiety and political uncertainty, how is the practice of drama in education and applied theatre a means to respond to and attempt to speak back to these times? The lectures and workshops will offer key insights into how our scholars use this practice to grapple with these issues.

  Featuring Julie Salverson (Queens University), Kathleen Gallagher (OISE), and workshops by by Professors: Kathleen Gallagher, Joe Norris (replacing Kathy Lundy as listed in the PDF), Julie Salverson, Larry Schwartz, and Belarie Zatzman.

  for more information download this PDF.    see the article in the Brock News

  Keynote: Friday, January 26 7:30pm
  Professor Julie Salverson, Queens University

  Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

  All of us today, as scholars, artists and citizens, are challenged with listening to and telling forward the story of this home we call Canada. As we consider this task, where are the possibilities for change, for hope, and for honest listening – listening not to consume and extract (what scholar Dylan Robinson calls hungry listening) but to acknowledge and attend? I will talk about ways to think and feel about what it means to witness and respond to calls for justice as whole people who draw upon a rich variety of resources. How do all of us, individually and collectively, honour our own heritage, traditions and teachers? How do we bring these to the table and to how we live, work and attend? What do each of us offer to the conversation? This is about what it means to be “on the ground”, to negotiate the challenge to witness with the alarm and feeling of consequence that entails a meeting with a traumatized environment. I will draw on Karen Barad’s performative metaphysics, Donna Haraway’s “staying with the trouble” and E.V.Walter’s discussion of “places of experience” to re-imagine my ideas of foolish witness.

  Keynote: Saturday, January 27 9:00am
  Professor Kathleen Gallagher, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

  Marilyn I. Walker Theatre at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

  In this keynote, I will use a case study of one research site in Lucknow, India, in my current multi-sited, applied theatre research, Youth, Theatre, Radical Hope and the Ethical Imaginary: an intercultural investigation of drama pedagogy, performance and civic engagement (2014-2019) to consider how drama can ‘speak back to these times’ if we deem- as some social innovation theorists do- the social world as made and imagined. How have the students in India, and how might we in our various pedagogical and creating contexts, use theatre to understand social systems and imagine a progressive sociality? In India, using drama, performance and critical dialogues, the work is both deeply political and radically hopeful through the ways in which it reorients, redefines and revisions the social world. Their classroom practice follows from a 19th century feminist theatre history, I will argue, that enables a transformative ambition, just what is needed in these harrowing global times. As democracies thin under populist and neoliberal regimes across most nation states, the young people and their teachers in India have long understood the power of collective opposition as a social practice and political resistance, but they have also seized upon drama and performance as the most powerful means to this end. Social innovation scholars have suggested that by harnessing what they are calling “collective intelligence”, it may be possible to dramatically improve societies’ ability to tackle seemingly intractable social problems. The students at Prerna school in India have positioned theatre as a “language of care” and a central tool for understanding the political economy and deconstructing the forces of oppression. It is time for all of us to harness the unimaginable, in our classrooms, on our stages, and in the street.

  Workshops: Saturday, January 27, 2018
  DART Studio A workshops: Julie Salverson (10:30 am-1:00 pm) / Belarie Zatzman (2:30-5:00 pm)
  DART Studio C workshops: Joe Norris (10:30 am-1:00 pm) / David Booth (2:30-5:00 pm)
  DART Studio D workshops: Larry Swartz (10:30 am-1:00 pm) / Kathleen Gallagher (2:30-5:00 pm)

  Julie Salverson, Queens University.
  10:30 – 1:00, Studio A
  Who we are as witnesses
  I have facilitated a few sessions this year based on a Quaker practice of holding a question in the light. The question for this workshop is: how can we live together better? I will speak for a few minutes about the deep preparation I require to enter the thorny territory of witnessing, the heritage, traditions and teachings that inform my work, and what a response to these times means to me. I will then invite people in the room to speak to this. There will be no direct interaction or discussion, this is about witnessing and listening.

  Joe Norris, Department of Dramatic Arts, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University.
  10:30 – 1:00 Studio C
  Reexamining Canadian History through Story Circles, Picture Interpretation, Tableaus, Choral Speech and Writing in Role
  Award winner for his publications in his pioneering work in playbuilding as research, duoethnography, a form of dialogic research, and alternative forms of arts-based assessment, Joe also devotes considerable time developing and piloting units of teaching the curriculum through drama. While this workshop will focus specifically on the Klondike, the approaches used can be applied to many curricular topics.

  Larry Swartz, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.
  10:30 – 1:00 Studio D
  MORE THAN A PLAY
  This practical interactive workshop will demonstrate strategies for using minimal and dialogue scripts to enhance interpretation skills, to build community and to address social justice issues. Handout provided.

  Belarie Zatzman, Department of Theatre, School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design, York University.
  2:30 -5:00 Studio A
  Performing Objects
  In this workshop, we will consider participatory practices that can be used in history, art and drama classes, or in museum / gallery contexts. We will explore applied theatre strategies for examining and interpreting “performing objects” in order to help us construct our encounters with archival objects or artworks, from the present.

  David Booth, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.
  2:30 -5:00 Studio C
  A Novel Approach to Drama
  This workshop will explore the Young Adult novel as a source and inspiration for improvised role playing leading to dramatic scene building. This genre of contemporary literature is written especially for our students, and explores issues of coming of age, relationships, social justice, and identity. As teachers, we can use the themes and events in these texts as stimuli for interpreting, exploring and inventing situations and scenarios as a whole class, working in groups and partners, as we construct our scenes into a playmaking conclusion.

  Kathleen Gallagher, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
  2:30 -5:00 Studio D
  Verbatim Theatre: telling other people’s stories
  Physical, ethical, social, and artistic questions converge at the centre of Verbatim Theatre practice. This session will invite participants to explore and examine some of the techniques and practices that are currently in use, in the evolving genre of Verbatim Theatre. Part story-telling, part composite, part-mimicry, part invention, the work will invite critical discussion about the skills, the social value, and the creative impulses connected to this form of theatre-making. Extending its reach beyond theatre and performance, Verbatim has found a place, too, in social science research. Harnessed to ideas about power relations and ‘collaborative’, multi-vocal, qualitative research practices and forms of dissemination, this genre of theatre further opens up discussions about the ever-expanding defi nitions of research methodology.

  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University
  A free community event, please register for the workshops:
  the-state-of-our-art-symposium-workshops.eventbrite.com
  (Maximum 20 per session)

  for more information download this PDF.

  Please note that limited parking is available at the MIWSFPA for guests and presenters on a first come, first served basis.

  Due to multiple event programming on the evening of Friday, January 26 please allow ample time to find nearby parking.

  Tags: Applied Theatre, Bellary Zatzman, drama in education, joe norris, Kathleen Gallagher, Larry Swartz, symposium, Walker Cultural Leader Series
  Categories: Department/Centre News, Events, Walker Cultural Leader Series

• MEMORIES KNOWN AND UNKNOWN: exhibition opens Jan 9, 2018 / lecture on Jan 31

  Thursday, January 04, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  William Bell and Grandma, from the Bell-Sloman Collection of the James Gibson Library, Brock University

  A Walker Cultural Leader Series and Canada 150 Exhibition and Public Lecture:

  MEMORIES KNOWN AND UNKNOWN

  Visual Arts faculty have selected photographs and ephemera from the Bell-Sloman Collection of the James Gibson Library, part of a remarkable collection donated to Brock University by Rick Bell in 2010. The collection features more than 300 photos and various papers spanning more than a century that document the Bell and Sloman families, who descended from former slaves in the American south. The exhibition at the Visual Arts gallery will showcase some of the material presented at the Walker Cultural Leader series lecture on January 31, when we are pleased to welcome Dr. Julie Crooks from the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her research situates the Bell-Sloman Collection as a “fugitive archive,’ built with defiance and resistance, in order to preserve, salvage and recover the histories of African Canadian communities whose stories and material artefacts are often left untold or subject to erasure.

  Exhibition: Monday, January 9, 2018 to Friday, February 9, 2018
  Regular visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 5 pm.
  To check viewing times of the exhibition please see the webpage.
  Location of Exhibition: Visa Gallery and Exhibition Space, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Brock University

  Note: The date of the exhibition reception is Wednesday, January 31 at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
  The lecture follows at 7:00 p.m. A free community event. Please see below for more details.

  THE BELL-SLOMAN COLLECTION AT BROCK UNIVERSITY: A FUGITIVE ARCHIVE

  

  Dr. Julie Crooks of the Art Gallery of Ontario

  Dr. Julie Crooks is our second Walker Cultural Leader in Visual Arts for 2017-18. Her public lecture will draw on current research that examines the ways in which black communities, by the mid to late 19th century, in settlements throughout Southern Ontario, used photography as a critical and powerful tool for self-representation. Crooks’ research situates the Bell-Sloman Collection as a “fugitive archive,” built with defiance and resistance, in order to preserve, salvage and recover the histories of black communities whose stories and material artefacts are often left untold or subject to erasure. The exhibition at the VISA Gallery and Exhibition Space (above) will showcase some of the material presented in the lecture.

  Wednesday, January 31, 2018
  Time: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Preceded by a reception for the exhibition at the VISA Gallery and Exhibition Space.
  Location: Marilyn I. Walker Theatre, Brock University (second floor, above the VISA Gallery)
  This is a free community event, but tickets are required and are available at wcl-bell-sloman-crooks.eventbrite.com

  Tags: A Fugitve Archive, Bell-Sloman Collection, Dr. Julie Crooks, Memories Known and Unknown, visual arts, Visual Arts Gallery, Walker Cultural Leader Series, WCL
  

• Canadian Author/Artist Daniel H. Dugas delivers public lectures at Brock

  Wednesday, January 03, 2018 | By dvivian

  

  Daniel H. Dugas’ most recent volume, published in 2015.

  The programs Etudes en français (Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures), Interdisciplinary Humanities, Studies in Arts and Culture (Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts) and Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts of Brock University are pleased to welcome Canadian author/artist Daniel H. Dugas for two public lectures!

  Dugas writes and creates art in a variety of forms. Technology, ecology, and economy are recurrent themes often explored in his work; poetry and video poetry are two favourite platforms. Whether his projects are first accomplished in French or English, Dugas’ motivations remain similar.

  In 2018 Dugas was awarded a major recognition on the Canadian francophone art/literary scene. He is the ‘Artiste de l’année en littérature’, a distinction awarded at the Eloizes 2018 by the ‘Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau Brunswick’. Please see link below:

  ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1099324/les-eloizes-2018-une-celebration-reussie-de-la-culture-acadienne

  Public lecture in English: Thursday January 25, 2018

  Time: 2-3 pm

  Location: MW 156 (Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, 15 Artists’ Common, downtown St. Catharines)

  Dugas will talk about his individual and collaborative practice with a focus on the ecological work created in partnership with Valerie LeBlanc over several years.

  The artist’s talk will be in English.

  —

  

  Canadian Author/Artist Daniel H. Dugas

  Conférence en français : vendredi 26 janvier 2018

  horaire : 1-2 pm

  lieu : PL 410, Campus principal (Brock University)

  Artiste numérique, poète et musicien, Daniel Dugas a participé à des expositions individuelles et de groupe ainsi qu’à plusieurs festivals et événements de poésie en Amérique du Nord, en Europe, au Mexique et en Australie. Son neuvième recueil de poésie L’esprit du temps / The Spirit of the Time vient de paraître aux Éditions Prise de parole.

  La présentation se fera en français.

  This is a free community event.  Tickets are not required.

  For more information contact Professor Catherine Parayre, cparayre@brocku.ca

  Tags: artist talk, Brock University, Canadian Author/Artist, Catherine Parayre, cstac, Daniel Dugas, English, Etudes en français, french, Interdisciplinary Humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MLLC, Public Lecture, stac, Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts
  Categories: Events, In the Media, News

• World-class photographer with a Brock connection

  Monday, December 18, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  “One of Them Is a Human #1” by Maija Tammi won third place in this year’s Taylor-Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Tammi studied photography at Brock in 2008-09 with Visual Arts professor Amy Friend. (Image copyright Maija Tammi; Used by permission).

  (Source: The Brock News | Friday Dec. 15, 2017 by Alison Innes)

  At first glance, the photo is a portrait of a young woman.

  On closer inspection, the ‘woman’ isn’t human at all. It is, in fact, an android called Erica, developed by Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories in Osaka University, Japan.

  The photograph, taken by Finnish artist Maija Tammi and titled “One of Them is a Human #1,” won third prize in this year’s prestigious Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.

  The photograph also has a surprising Brock connection.

  

  Finnish artist Maija Tammi, who studied at
  Brock University in 2008-09

  Tammi spent a year studying film and art at Brock University in 2008-09. Although she already had a background in photojournalism, her experience at Brock, and in particular a course with Professor Amy Friend, encouraged her towards art photography.

  “The Visual Arts program at Brock offers an abundance of opportunity for one-on-one interactions in class with students and professors,” says Friend.

  Such interactions allow for personalized and concentrated instruction that allow students to reach their potential.

  “Maija flourished in this environment and took advantage of the surrounding community with her interactive installations and thought-provoking course projects,” says Friend.

  Tammi cites the film Five Obstructions, which she first saw in Friend’s course, as particularly influential.

  The 1967 film shows the remaking of the same story five times, each with a different obstruction. This process of rethinking and reframing inspired Tammi.

  “Once you have thought of a concept,” she explains, “you rethink it several times from different perspectives.”

  Tammi was immediately interested in the ways obstructions can encourage creativity and used the idea in her class project, redoing the same photograph multiple times with different obstructions.

  This experience in Friend’s course influenced her approach to photography. She gives herself obstructions, such as limiting her camera gear, to encourage her own creativity.

  Tammi is particularly attracted to portraiture, which she says tells us more about ourselves as viewers of the photograph than the subject of the photo as we project our stereotypes on them.

  One of Them is a Human #1 has attracted a lot of attention in the arts community. Although the Taylor Wessing contest rules state that the subject needs to be alive, Tammi’s photograph was accepted because it raises important questions about what it means to be human.

  “I’m very excited about the conversation that has arisen,” Tammi says. “It is time to think about what it means to be alive.”

  Tammi doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects; she is currently completing a practise-based PhD exploring representations of sickness in art photography.

  “I like topics that are very difficult and people don’t like to talk about,” she says.

  Friend, who exhibited work in the same show as Tammi in New York in August 2015, has been watching her former student’s success closely.

  “Her success is indicative of the connections that many students make with classmates and professors,” Friend says. “When I see opportunities that fit her areas of expertise I send them her way. These are the types of extended interactions that happen when we are given space to know our students.”

  Tammi’s work was one of three finalists chosen from more than 5,717 submissions. Selected submissions, including the shortlisted portraits and competition winner, are on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

  Tags: alumni, Amy Friend, Department of Visual Arts, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, photography
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News

• A Special One Night Art Exhibition

  Monday, December 11, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  On January 17, students from Donna Akrey’s 3M90 Advanced Art Practices will be “transplanting their work into the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts building”. Everyone is invited to explore this one night exhibition between 4 and 9 p.m. Maps will be given out to help navigate the space to see the works – some easy to find, others more hidden.

  Invasive Species is a collection of self-directed works from third and fourth year students in the 3M90 ADVANCED ART PRACTICES course. This exhibition focuses on themes of information, architecture, the archive, regionality, subjectivity and objectivity, death, resilience, ecology, mental health, space, the institution, invasive and symbiotic species, and site-specific art. The works are comprised of painting, drawing, video, projection, animation, performance, and installation. All of the artists respond to the unique specificities and conditions of the facility and its site.

  Victoria Reid, visual arts student in Donna Akrey’s 3M90 course says her objective is “to personify objects in the architecture and space around us to show our connection to the architecture. I chose to do this in order to bring awareness to our relationship and contribution to the growing industrial landscape around us.”

  This event marks the mid-year point as the student progress to a final site-specific exhibition proposed to take over parts of downtown St. Catharines in April 2018.

  In order to provoke creativity and thought into this exhibition, Akrey asked her students, “if your work was to fit in this space (the MIW) and not the white cube – where might it go?” She says, “This allows the students to consider their work outside of the gallery and in effect pushes research further (as well as the logistics of mounting visual art in difficult spaces). The students have risen to it and are doing a great job.”

  Reid comments on what this course and the opportunity of this exhibition has taught her, “Through the process of making this work, I learned how to step outside my comfort zone and I learned that art can be art, even when in unconventional spaces apart from the gallery.”

  Donna Akrey is a part-time instructor of visual arts at Brock University. Her exhibition, Also Also held at Rodman Hall from February to April of 2017, was nominated for Exhibition of the Year: Budget Under $20, 000 (Monographic) Award by the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG). Her collaboration as a member of the Hamilton Perambulatory Unit was recently seen in the Downtown/s – Urban Renewals Today for Tomorrow: The 2017 Windsor-Essex Triennial of Contemporary Art.

  Isabella Domaradzki, artist, member of the organizational team for Invasive Species, and student in the 3M90 course says what she looks forward to most about this one night exhibition “is seeing our hard work in creating our art and planning this show come to life. We have learned so many valuable lessons throughout this experience that have shaped our identity as artists, and I think it will be exciting to visualize our growth and progress!”

  This one night exhibition is a free event held at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts from 4 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday Jan. 17. Refreshments and snacks will be served in the MIWSFPA lobby. Visit the Invasive Species Facebook event page to stay updated with this exciting event.

  Tags: 15 artists' common, 3M90, A One Night Exhibition, Brock University, Donna Akrey, downtown St. Catharines, exhibition, Invasive Species, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, OAAG, photography, VISA, visual arts, Visual Arts Exhibition Space
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News

• Brock photographers snap up art show awards

  Thursday, December 07, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  Danny Custodio collaborated with his father to create compositions exploring tar’s organic forms and textures.

  (Source: The Brock News | Wednesday Dec. 6, 2017 by Alison Innes)

  Two Brock photographers were recently honoured for their ability to capture compelling imagery.

  Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos and Administrative Assistant Danny Custodio, from the Rodman Hall Art Centre, both won awards at RMG Exposed: Out of this World, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery art show and charity auction held Nov. 25.

  Oil and Vinegar by Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos, received first place in the youth category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction.

  

  Oil and Vinegar by Visual Arts student Denise Apostolatos, received first place in the youth category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction.

  Apostolatos’ work, Oil and Vinegar, won first place in the youth category from a shortlist of 40 works from across North America. 

  She says it was “truly an honour” to be named the winner of the youth category, and to receive two consecutive acceptances to participate in RMG Exposed.

  “As an undergraduate student, these opportunities are unique in that they provide a professional outlet to gain recognition and network in a larger context,” she says.

  Apostolatos credits the artistic and professional guidance she receives in the Visual Arts program for fostering her development as a creative professional.

  “As an undergraduate artist, it is important to see her work outside of the classroom and in the professional art community,” says Visual Arts Professor and Department Chair Donna Szoke. “We are thrilled to see Denise’s work being celebrated.”

  The award is also a means to recognize the “talent being produced here in Niagara in our Visual Arts program at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts,” she says.

  Rodman Hall’s Danny Custodio took first place in the Conceptual/Non-Representational category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction. He is pictured with award sponsor Mason Bennett of Johncox professional Corporation.

  

  Rodman Hall’s Danny Custodio took first place in the Conceptual/Non-Representational category at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s Exposed: Out of this World annual photography show and auction. He is pictured with award sponsor Mason Bennett of Johncox professional Corporation.

  Custodio received the Conceptual/Non-Representational Prize for his image Tar, which explores themes of blue-collar labour.

  “Tar is a commonly used substance in roofing, the profession my father worked for 45 years,” says Custodio, who collaborated with his father to create compositions exploring tar’s organic forms and textures.

  RMG Exposed: Out of this World brings together artists, collectors and curators to celebrate digital photography and support free arts programming for kids and families. The event, now in its eighth year, includes both live and silent auctions of images carefully selected from 466 submissions.

  The event is designed to recognize contemporary photographers and draws artist submissions from across Canada and the United States.

  The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art museum in Oshawa and features a collection of over 4,500 works including Canadian contemporary art and photography.

  To view this year’s images, visit the RMG Exposed website.

  Tags: Brock University, Danny Custodio, Denise Apostolatos, Department of Visual Arts, downtown St. Catharines, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, RHAC, RMG Exposed, rodman hall, Rodman Hall Art Centre, visual arts
  Categories: Current Students, In the Media, News

• Acting exercise helps prepare co-op students for workplace

  Thursday, December 07, 2017 | By dtemprile

  

  First-year Dramatic Arts student Dawson Strangway, from Mirror Theatre, and co-op students Michelle Geremia, Julio Trevino Silva, and Hamza Mallick act out a ‘reception desk’ scene with the help of Professor Joe Norris, foreground.

  From small talk at the water cooler to encounters with testy photocopiers, students embarking on co-op work-terms never quite know the situations they may experience in their new workplace.

  To help lessen stress and increase comfort heading into a new environment, Brock Dramatic Arts students recently visited their co-op peers to share some scenarios they may be faced with.

  Comprised primarily of Dramatic Arts students under the direction of Joe Norris, Dramatic Arts Chair and Professor of Drama in Education and Applied Theatre, Mirror Theatre spent time in three Co-op Education classes over the past few weeks to provide guidance and reassurance by acting out scenes in Sean O’Sullivan Theatre.

  

  Co-op students Daniel O’Leary, left, and Marsel Avdic, right, play tug of war with fourth-year Dramatic Arts student and Mirror Theatre member Sumer Seth during an ‘Awkward Elevator’ scene.

  The group write and present interactive scenes on a variety of social issues, with the latest art-based research project exploring the interpersonal dynamics of work placements from entry to exit.

  Using applied theatre, experiential and problem-based learning theories and techniques, the students present scenes that address worker safety, on-site learning, asking for help, dealing with unreasonable demands and degree of personal sharing and assessment. Audience members redirect the scenes from their seat and, at times, come on stage to try to act out their thoughts through role-play.

  The initiative was intended to generate discussion amongst the co-op students on a variety of work-related topics in the 0N90 class.

  Students were asked to put themselves in the actors’ shoes in order to understand how they would handle each of the given situations in real life.

  “I would recommend this type of interactive learning in future classes,” said second-year Public Health co-op student Micaela Snow following the exercise. “I feel like the presentation gave us a deeper understanding of expectations and work etiquette rather than if we just listened to the professor talking about it.”

  Julia Zhu, Brock’s Associate Director of Co-op Education, hoped the experience helped to “facilitate ‘a rehearsal for life’ by offering an opportunity for students to safely test out their approach to impromptu social, ethical and culture situations.”

  Course facilitator Ashley Haroutunian said she was impressed by the level of engagement students displayed as they watched the vignettes and participated in the discussions and re-enactments.

  “They demonstrated a keen ability to reflect and contribute thoughtful observations and suggestions to help the players navigate the challenging workplace scenarios and conflicts,” she said. “Professor Norris and his students did an excellent job of supporting their learning by inviting, encouraging and involving students in the process.”

  Mirror Theatre has previously worked with Brock’s English as a Second Language Services in addressing academic integrity issues; Student Health, examining mental health and drinking issues; Health and Safety, discussing violence in the workplace; a Health Sciences class, articulating challenges of patient care; and the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation’s TA training sessions. The group’s members are heading to New York in April to present their arts-based research at the American Educational Research Association.

  Mirror Theatre members who participated in the recent co-op exercises include fourth-year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts students Mike Metz and Lindsey Abrams, third-year Psychology and Dramatic Arts student Nadia Ganesh, fourth-year Dramatic Arts and Education student Aaron Drake, fourth-year Con-Ed student Abby Rollo, second-year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student Dani Shae Barkley, fourth-year Dramatic Arts student Sumer Seth and first-year Dramatic Arts student Dawson Strangway.

  Speaking with Mirror Theatre members on how this group has impacted their lives, Mike Metz, fourth year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student says, “When I started Mirror Theatre in my first year, I was a Con-Ed math student. Mirror Theatre was one of the major reasons I decided to switch my major to Drama.”

  Lindsey Abrams, fourth year Con-Ed Dramatic Arts student adds, “Mirror Theatre has given me the opportunity to explore my love for theatre through different lenses as an actor, prospective educator, and learner.  I get the opportunity to explore all different areas of theatre that can be presented, and feel as though I am always a part of a team.”

  When Nadia Ganesh, third year Psychology and Dramatic Arts student was asked what she enjoys about participating in Mirror Theatre, she said, “I love the fact that Mirror Theatre gives me the ability to impact the lives of others even if it is only in a minor way. If it’s just making one person laugh, I’m happy that I’ve had the opportunity to affect that individual in a positive way.”

  Tags: 0N90, Brock University, careers, Department of Dramatic Arts, drama in education, dramatic arts, joe norris, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Mirror Theatre, miwsfpa, Sean O'Sullivan Theatre
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News

• Exhibition: ART BLOCK: BAC on the Block opens Dec .6

  Sunday, December 03, 2017 | By dvivian

  

  Work exhibited in last year’s edition of  ARTBlock: BAC on the Block exhibition.

  Members of the Brock Art Collective will host their third annual ARTBlock: BAC on the Block exhibition beginning Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  The group, comprised of MIWSFPA students, will showcase works completed on 6-inch by 6-inch panels and made with a variety of mediums. Most works will be for sale starting at $40.

  

  The opening reception will be held Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m.
  The exhibition, held in the Visual Arts Exhibition Space, runs until Friday, Dec. 22.

  Regular visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.

  More information is available on ExperienceBU or Facebook

  Tags: ART BLOCK, BAC, Department of Visual Arts
  Categories: Current Students, Events, News, Uncategorised

• Music presents the University Wind Ensemble: A MUSICAL MONTAGE

  Saturday, December 02, 2017 | By dvivian

  

  The University Wind Ensemble enjoys a rich heritage of musical excellence, bringing together both university and high school students as well as members of the Niagara musical community to explore and perform major symphonic wind band works, both original and arranged.

  The University Wind Ensemble Series conducted by Zoltan Kalman

  featuring a Canada 150 Performance of Suite Canadienne composed by Michael Kositsky

  Led by conductor Zoltan Kalman, the ensemble explores major symphonic wind band works, both original and arranged. Includes a Canada 150 performance of “Suite Canadienne”: A Medley of Canadian Folksongs, composed by Michael Kositsky.

  Folksongs to be included: I’s the B’y / Un Canadien errant / Black Fly / Four Strong Winds / North West Passage / J’entends le moulin / Springhill Mine Disaster / Something to Sing About.

  Tuesday, December 5, 2017
  Time: 7:30 p.m.

  Location: Partridge Hall, First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines, ON

  Tickets: $12*; $5* child (14 and under); $5* eyeGo program. Free admission to current Brock students with valid student ID card. *No CCIF applied; other applicable fees and taxes are extra. † Applicable fees and taxes are extra.

  Available from the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905.688.0722 or Long Distance Toll Free: 1.855.515.0722; online: firstontariopac.ca

  This is a special Canada 150 event.

  Tags: department of music
  Categories: Announcements, Events, News