Events

Watch this page for events from STAC and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

Current Events

Photo credit: Derek J.J. Knight, Gaston Lachaise, Floating Figure, 1927 (cast 1935), Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (© dk 2018).

Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture presents

Derek Knight: PLACES, A Flâneur’s Eye
Oct. 27, 2023 to Jan.13, 2024
Opening reception – Oct. 27, 2023 from 5-7 pm
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Museums and galleries draw prestige from their architecture, geographic locale or historical significance, while compelling works of art, performances, and public expressions of creativity galvanize the diversity of art both within sanctioned institutional spaces and the ‘non-spaces’ that have the capacity to take on resonance.

Derek Knight: PLACES, A Flâneur’s Eye documents his museum visits over the last decade in North America and Europe.

See the Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-en-valise webpage.

Upcoming Events

Photo credit: Ruilin Zhang

An exhibition presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture

Abstract Filters
SCLA 5P01 – Comparative Critical theory in Literature and the Arts responds to Les chemins de l’abstraction.

Jan. 15  to Mar. 16, 2024
Opening reception – Feb.2, 2024 from 5-7 pm
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

In response to the 2023 exhibition “Les chemins de l’abstraction / Pathways to Abstraction” at the Musée du Niel in the South of France, students in SCLA 5P01 – Comparative Critical theory in Literature and the Arts apply Viktor Shklovsky’s concept of “estrangement” to creative-writing pieces and photographic gestures.

In collaboration with the Musée du Niel, Giens, France (museeduniel.art) and with the support of the M.A. Program, Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts.

museeduniel.com/fr/expositions

museeduniel.com/en/exhibitions

Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and the Research Centre in Interdisciplinary Arts and Creative Culture, present

Creative Salon

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Mahtay Café
241 St Paul St, St. Catharines, ON L2R 3M7

Free event, open to the public

Join Creative Salon participants for an informal discussion about their creative work.

Stockholm Interior, 2023. Oil and acrylic on panel, 30 x 24 inches. Image: Geoff Farnsworth.

An artist’s talk presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and  Walker Cultural Leader Series

Geoff Farnsworth: Plan and Accident
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2024 from 3-5 pm
MWS 416 (fourth floor painting studio)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

An onsite and online artist talk with demonstration for the students of STAC 3P97 Publishing: Creative Elements and Editorial Process, open to the public.

Geoff Farnsworth’s paintings explore a relationship between figurative and abstraction in order to meld unconscious probing and stylistic innovation with a meditative figural base. They are collections of shape, colour, texture, and energy, while also building a compelling image. Working with people and objects from his personal world, the artist focuses on maintaining a balance between plan and accident, known and unknown, restraint and exuberance. His figures look out as much into mindscape as landscape.
The artist talk will be followed by a demonstration on how to create fun blurred effects on paper.

An artist’s talk presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and the Walker Cultural Leaders program

Trauma-informed inquiry, facilitation & the visitor experience: Jackie Armstrong presents the 21st C. museum
Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 from 6-9 pm
MWS 156 (ground floor)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

An onsite artist talk with the students of STAC 3P41 Approaches to Curatorial Practice, open to the public. Our guest will be joining us online from New York. The talk will be recorded.

Alternately entitled “Trauma-informed inquiry, facilitation, and experiences in museums: Centering humanity and healing our nervous systems,” Jackie Armstrong will reveal why trauma-awareness is a critical responsibility, sharing what we risk by not being trauma-informed and how we all can benefit from trauma-informed values and principles. Jackie will focus specifically on why museums, galleries, and/or other arts and cultural organizations should be integrating trauma-informed principles into all the ways they work, making it part of their culture.

Topics will include what trauma is and the impacts it has, trauma-informed practices and values, the 4 Rs of Trauma-informed practice, supporting the nervous system through Context, Connection, and Choice, and cultivating multilayered safety and trust. This talk will emphasize trauma-informed practices as a framework, lens and way of being that incorporates healing centered practices. Jackie asks what changes when we slow down and are guided by compassion, curiosity, and love, when we meet people where they are and when we realize that every interaction is an opportunity for connection. What do we make space for when we integrate trauma-informed practices into our work, into our lives, into society?

Concepts such as emotional self-regulation, co-regulation attunement and relationality will be explored, as well as outlining a how-to and/or the elements that go into trauma-informed facilitation, inquiry and program design. Examples will be given throughout to help contextualize key ideas and concepts.

Jackie will also be engaging with the students of STAC 3P41 Approaches to Curatorial Practice on Jan. 22 and Mar. 25, 2024.

Jackie Armstrong is the Associate Educator, Visitor Research and Experience, Museum of Modern Art (New York).

An exhibition presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture

Christy Mitchell, Honours Thesis exhibition
Vestiges of the past: the ephemeral nature of memory keeping

March 22 to April 13, 2024
Opening reception – Mar. 22, 2024 from 5-7 pm
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

STAC graduand Christy Mitchell presents a creative and critical response to the problem of the ephemeral contemporary image. Presented on site with an online curatorial exhibition project.

TOUCH, AND TENDER READINGS. Soft Cover, English, Thread Stitching, 48 Pages, 2023, Salon für Kunstbuch

An exhibition presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture

Touching Books: self-publishing

April 15 to September 2024
Opening reception – Apr.22 or 29th TBC, 2024 from 5-7 pm
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

Following the introduction of a new course in 2024, STAC 3P97 Publishing: Creative Elements and Editorial Process, this exhibition is the first evidence of creative inquiry and expression in small press publishing. Students will create mini books, both material and digital. The reference volume is Touch, published by the SWP in 2023, which the students will creatively reformulate into new expressions of self-publishing.

Recent Events

Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture presents

Geoff Farnsworth: Blurs and Vagueness – An exhibition of small paintings
Sept. 26 to Oct. 22, 2023
Opening reception – Sept. 26, 2023 from noon to 2 p.m.
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines
Ontario Culture Days event

In partnership with 13th Street Gallery’s exhibition of larger paintings by Geoff Farnsworth running Sept. 23 to Oct. 21, 2023.

Demonstrating a spirit for process, experimentation, and colour exploration, Geoff Farnsworth’s small-sized paintings offer a meditative reflection between figurative and abstraction. They are presented here with small drawings.

Rarely shown to the public, Farnsworth’s drawings form a significant part of his work. They often – although not always – represent a more tightly structured environment. When seen together, his paintings and drawings evoke a fluctuating world of everyday realities and the dreamy fantasies of our imagination.

Geoff Farnsworth studied with the Federation of Canadian Artists (Vancouver chapter), Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Capilano University (Graphic Design & Illustration Program), and the Art Students League of New York. After five years in New York City, Farnsworth relocated to Toronto. 4He currently lives and works in downtown St. Catharines. His paintings have been shown in New York City, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls, Norway, Sweden, and Trinidad.

Curators: Catherine Parayre and David Vivian
Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture

Small Walker Press book launch:
Books and Archives
Presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and  Walker Cultural Leader Series

Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 12 to 2 p.m.
Museum in the Hallway/Boîte-en-valise
(2nd floor by the Theatre entrance), MIWSFPA
Ontario Culture Days event

In conjunction with exhibition opening of Geoff Farnsworth: Blurs and Vagueness

Four book designers publish their reflection on Books and Archives:

  • Annette le Fort / Brandon Labelle, Touch and Tender Readings. Books As Archives, a sensory experience at the local library.
  • Seth Weiner, Bernhard Cella, Handmade, an illustrated catalogue of books that do not exist.

Small Walker Press Catalogue Fall 2023

Small Walker Press Book Launch two-pager Fall 2023

A Walker Cultural Leader event.

Photo credits: Annette le Fort; Bernhard Cella

Small Walker Press book launch:
Books and Archives
Presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and  Walker Cultural Leader Series

Saturday, Oct. 7 from 2 to 3 p.m.
Art Metropole, Toronto, https://artmetropole.com/
896 College Street, Toronto, ON M6H 1A4 +1 416-703-4400

Free event, open to the public

Four book designers publish their reflections on archives:

  • Annette le Fort / Brandon Labelle, Touch and Tender Readings. Books As Archives, a sensory experience at the local library;
  • Seth Weiner, Bernhard Cella, Handmade, an illustrated catalogue of books that do not exist.

Small Walker Press Catalogue Fall 2023

Small Walker Press Book Launch two-pager Fall 2023

Photo credits: Annette le Fort; Bernhard Cella

Small Walker Press book launch:
Books and Archives
Presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and  Walker Cultural Leader Series

Thursday, Oct. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Brock Library, Learning Commons

Free event, open to the public

Four book designers publish their reflections on archives:

  • Annette le Fort / Brandon Labelle, Touch and Tender Readings. Books As Archives, a sensory experience at the local library;
  • Seth Weiner, Bernhard Cella, Handmade, an illustrated catalogue of books that do not exist.

Small Walker Press Catalogue Fall 2023

Small Walker Press Book Launch two-pager Fall 2023

An online artist’s talk presented by the Centre for Studies in Arts & Culture and  Walker Cultural Leader Series

Lan ‘Florence’ Yee: Sharper Tools for Unripe Fruit
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 from 7-9 pm
MWS 156 (ground floor)
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

Free event, open to the public

The public is invited to attend in person at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts in the Art and Val Fleming Smart Presentation Classroom, MWS 156, MIWSFPA 
15 Artists’ Common, St. Catharines

or join the artist talk on Zoom: please register ahead of time via Zoom.

Spanning media from textiles to signage, Lan “Florence” Yee’s interdisciplinary practice uses text and labour-intensive creation as a method of “working through” the restrictive belonging we may seek from language, duty, and (re)presentation. As “hard work” is a main measurement from which racialized & migrant bodies are valued, the contradictions of in/visibility and recognition explore how we may queer desirability. The socio-political and personal history of Cantonese displacement has brought my work to what Desmond Wong calls ‘the intersection of filiality and arrival.’ They collect text in underappreciated places and ferment it until it is too suspicious to ignore. Their text-based pieces borrow the institutional pen of templates, academia, and forms, while displacing their functions through skeptical lived experiences. The works use an ironic and humorous tone to recognize the limits of their own structure, and to sustain a necessary uncertainty.

Past Events

Maddy Gordon, "Home for Myself", 2023. Graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper. Dimensions variable: 3.5” – 8.5” tall.

UNCERTAINTY AND THE FUTURE
Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-En-Valise

Mar.31 – Aug. 30, 2023

Free admission. Open to the public.

ADAPTATIONS. APPLYING CONSTRAINTS
Museum in the Hallway / BoîTE-En-Valise

Apr.24 – Aug. 30, 2023

Free admission. Open to the public.

News from around the MIWSFPA

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RSS Dramatic Arts

RSS Visual Arts

  • Visual Arts exhibition presents creative exploration of death
    TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2023 | by Gillian Minaker A new faculty art exhibition featuring the work of Linda Carreiro, Visual Arts Professor and Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock, is now open for viewing. ‘Afterthoughts’, […]
  • Exhibition builds bridges for community members
    Image caption: Exhibiting artist Katherine Sunita (left) engages with her artwork Invisible Contents with Shauna MacLeod, Founder/Director of Willow Arts Community as part of an exhibition now on show at the Marilyn I. Walker School […]
  • Visual Arts offering learning opportunity in Spain
    Open to all eligible Brock students, VISA 3M05 offers an immersive experience to Bilboa, Spain. Originally published in The Brock News | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 01, 2023 | by Cialyn Carson Brock University students have the chance to study […]
  • Student, alumni art exhibition explores time through photography
    Give us a Moment, a Brock student and alumni art exhibit, is on display until Saturday, Nov. 12 in the Visual Arts Gallery of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in […]