Articles tagged with: david vivian

• Celebrating creativity and diversity in Niagara with SAFRAN 2024

  Saturday, April 06, 2024 | By dvivian

  

  Image caption: Brock Professor Jean Ntakiturimana of Modern Languages, Literatures & Cultures, (right) at the Sunday morning long table about the world of publishing, hosted by Binta Wague of les Éditions Touana (Toronto , centre-right, in green). 

  Brock University recently welcomed the Salon du livre des Francophonies du Niagara (SAFRAN) 2024 for a diverse and dynamic weekend of events and performances celebrating literary creativity and diversity in the Niagara region.

  Hosted by Brock’s Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC) and Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MLLC) in collaboration with SOFIFRAN, the event was held from March 21 to 24 at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, with an opening ceremony at the Film House in the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre. With the important collaboration of the Maison de la culture francophone du Niagara, the event coincided with the UNESCO World Poetry Day, World Puppetry Day and International Francophonie Day.

  

  Director of the Salon du livre and MLLC Instructor, Nafée Faigou, hosting the opening ceremonies at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

  “It’s been an absolutely remarkable celebration of language and culture, beautifully led and produced by Director of the Salon du livre, Nafée Faigou and Fété Ngira-Batware Kimpiobi, Director General of SOFIFRAN,” said Professor David Vivian, Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture. “Our learning community is so much richer for having hosted SAFRAN.”

  Guests and community members from the Niagara Francophone community and beyond were treated to a diverse offering of cultural interactions including entertaining and thoughtful puppet shows by Le chemin qui marche from Quebec, workshops for youth on robotics and AI and compelling roundtable discussions  in the MIWSFPA venues.

  A highlight was the publisher’s fair in the MIWSFPA lobby, igniting important long-table discussions amongst publishers and authors that celebrated the Francophonie of the region, including both Franco-Ontarian and new Franco-Canadian voices.

  For more information about the event, please visit the STAC website.

  Tags: Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, Fété Ngira-Batware Kimpiobi, Humanities, Jean Ntakiturimana, Literatures & Cultures, MIWSFPA, MLLC, Modern Languages, Nafée Faigou, STAC
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

• Thousands of prospective Brock students to explore campus Sunday

  Wednesday, November 01, 2023 | By dvivian

  

  Originally published in the Brock News, November 01, 2023.

  Brock will welcome thousands of potential Badgers and their families to campus Sunday, Nov. 5 to get a glimpse of the University’s renowned student experience. Representatives from the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture will be present.

  Academic programs, extracurricular activities, student supports and campus services will be among the highlights of Brock’s annual Fall Preview Day, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both the University’s main campus and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

  The University’s largest on-campus recruiting event will offer visitors a chance to attend Faculty- and program-specific presentations, explore residences and various labs and facilities, attend an 80-booth information fair and tour the scenic campus on the Niagara escarpment as they learn about all that Brock has to offer.

  “This year, Fall Preview Day comes on the heels of Brock employees and volunteers making connections with students across the province at the popular Ontario Universities’ Fair in Toronto, previously held in September,” says Kara Kelly, Manager, Recruitment Operations and Communications. “We’re excited to see that momentum continue as students arrive to experience campus for themselves and learn more about Brock’s outstanding academic offerings, its dedicated faculty and staff, and the wealth of supports available here to help them on their path to success.”

  In addition to a packed schedule of presentations, dozens of tours and drop-in opportunities will welcome prospective students into labs and classrooms across campus, visiting a variety of spaces such as Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, the newly opened Black Student Success Centre, Nursing Clinical Simulation Lab and Brock Functional Inclusive Training Centre, where health sciences students lead exercise and wellness programming for local seniors. A shuttle will also be available from the main campus for visitors interested in exploring Brock’s downtown arts school.

  While many of the attendees are typically high school applicants, the day will also feature information for transfer and mature students interested in pursuing their studies at Brock.

  “Brock offers a variety of pathways to higher learning, and we encourage people interested in finding out more to come out on Sunday and speak with our knowledgeable staff,” Kelly says.

  The MIWSFPA-specific program includes:

  Sunday, November 5,11 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

  Information Fair, Ian Beddis Gymnasium
  MIWSFPA tables
  11 a.m.- 4 p.m.

  Humanities presentation
  South Block 202
  11:15 a.m.- noon.
  Meet the Dean and Associate Dean of Humanities, to learn about the first-year experience in the Humanities. Information will include departments, programs, and key contacts.

  Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts presentation
  South Block 202
  12:15-12:55 p.m.
  Meet the Dean and Associate Dean, Fine & Performing Arts to learn about the first-year experience as students in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. Information will include departments, programs, and key contacts, followed by a tour of MIWSFPA downtown.

  Experience Humanities (Walking Tour)
  Meet outside of South Block 202
  1 p.m.
  Visit each department in the Faculty of Humanities on our main campus, with students from many programs in attendance to convey real-life experiences. There will be drop offs at Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Centre for Digital Humanities, English, History, Philosophy, Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Canadian Studies, and Classics. Learn more about student spaces, faculty office hours, and how to get involved in special Humanities events.

  Experience MIWSFPA (Tours)
  Gather at the Brock Statue
  1 p.m.
  You’ll be taken via bus downtown to the MIWSFPA, and a shuttle will take you back to main campus at 2:45 p.m.

  Program Specific Tours for Dramatic Arts, Music, Visual Art, and Studies in Arts and Culture.
  15 Artists’ Common, downtown St. Catharines (main Lobby doors)
  1:30-2:30
  Tour the classrooms, studios, and rehearsal spaces that you will be learning in during your time at MIWSFPA. Your Program Chair or Director will be available for questions you may have, along with students to convey their real-life experiences at the School. Parking also available on-site.

  MIWSFPA Open Tour
  15 Artists’ Common, downtown St. Catharines (main Lobby doors)
  3:00-4:00
  Tour the classrooms, studios, and rehearsal spaces that you will be learning in during your time at MIWSFPA. Parking available on-site.

  For more information or to register for Fall Preview Day, visit the event website.

  Tags: Catherine Parayre, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, fall preview day, recruitment, STAC, tours
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

• Derek Knight: PLACES, A Flâneur’s Eye opens October 27 at the MIWSFPA

  Monday, October 23, 2023 | By dvivian

  

  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
  October 27, 2023 to January 13, 2024

  Exhibition opening: Friday, October 27 from 5 to 7 p.m.
  Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-en-valise
  (2nd floor by the Theatre entrance), MIWSFPA
  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 Knight’s museum visits over the last decade in North America and Europe.

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

  Tags: Catherine Parayre, david vivian, Derek Knight, Places
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

• Geoff Farnsworth and the Small Walker Press, launch Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the MIWSFPA

  Monday, September 25, 2023 | By dvivian

  

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

  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

  The virtual catalogue for the exhibition is available here:
  https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/geoff-farnsworth-blurs-and-vagueness/page/virtual-catalogue

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  Small Walker Press book launch:

  

  Photo credits: Annette le Fort; Bernhard Cella

  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.

  Tags: Blurs and Vagueness, Catherine Parayre, david vivian, Geoff Farnsworth, Geoff Farnsworth; Blurs and Vagueness, Small Walker Press, swp
  Categories: Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News, STAC Courses, Uncategorised

• Audio tour explores historic art of Mackenzie Chown Complex

  Sunday, May 14, 2023 | By dvivian

  

  Lesley Bell (BA ’88), former Learning Commons Co-ordinator at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), has researched the history of Michael Snow’s Timed Images installation at Brock. She is pictured here with Frame Three, which now hangs in the School.

  posted on the Brock News on TUESDAY, MAY 09, 2023 | by Alison Innes

  Getting lost in Mackenzie Chown Complex is a familiar experience for many Brock students, and it’s easy to miss the artistic significance of the building in the rush to get to class on time.

  A new self-guided audio tour produced by Foreword, a podcast from the Faculty of Humanities, hopes to encourage a new appreciation for a complicated space and the art it contains on the 50th anniversary of its installation.

  The audio tour guides the listener through the various locations of Michael Snow’s 1972-73 art installation Time Images and considers how the building’s unique architecture plays with the space and light.

  Snow was invited by renowned architect Raymond Moriyama to create an art installation as part of the design for Brock’s new Academic Staging Building, now called the Mackenzie Chown Complex. His installation consisted of a series of mirrors, still images and live video situated throughout the building from Pond Inlet to A Block.

  Elements of the installation can still be seen, and the audio tour has an accompanying web page featuring historic photographs, artist sketches and architectural plans collected by Lesley Bell (BA ’88), an artist and retired support staff for Brock’s Department of Visual Arts, during her research on Snow.

  Snow, who died in January, was a widely acclaimed Canadian artist. His many honours included Officer of the Order of Canada (1981), Governor General’s Award in Media Arts (2000) and an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Brock University (1974). He is also known for his Canada geese sculpture, Flight Stop (1979), that hangs in Toronto’s Eaton Centre and his piece The Audience (1989) on the exterior of the Rogers Centre.

  The Foreword podcast’s two-part final episode of series four also features an interview with Bell by host Alison Innes, Strategic Initiatives and Outreach Officer in the Faculty of Humanities. Bell became interested in Snow’s art at Brock while she was working with the Department of Visual Arts. She went on to research and produce a short documentary on Snow and his collaboration with Moriyama at Brock with Tracy Van Oosten (BA ’10) in 2021.

  Tags: Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, Department of Visual Arts, Humanities, lesley bell, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, michael snow, MIWSFPA, podcast, Raymond Moriyama, STAC, Visual Arts
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

• Spotlight on STAC 3P93: Producing a Performance Event

  Friday, April 14, 2023 | By dvivian

  

  STAC 3P93 Producing a Performance Event prepares students for careers in business and the arts by focussing on the practises and procedures to produce a professional performance event.  Collaboration through teamwork and adaptability to the creative, dynamic and stimulating conditions of cultural production are just two important skills that students develop in this intensive 12-week course. 

  In a recent capstone event, each student group pitched their ideas to a trio of panellists in a time-limited competition for producing success. The presentations included a conceptual outline of the cultural experience, supported by the planning, operating, funding, marketing, staging and production components of a successful audience and community engagement event.  

  Canadians recognize that the performing arts improve their quality of life and acknowledge the impact of the arts on the social and economic health of their communities. Events that imagine storytelling, music, dance and visual arts in different spaces of community engagement, such as theatres and cafes are often proposed by the students in this course. The students share a concern for improved mental health, sustained housing security and the well-being of the individual and the community, and they propose cultural experiences that will contribute to these outcomes.

  “Do not be afraid of the art!” – Colleen Smith, CEO, First Ontario Performing Arts Centre. 

  

  Colleen Smith (FOPAC) and Steve Remus (NAC)

  The guest panellists, invited for their breadth and depth of experience in their professional fields, share their wisdom learned from many years of successful leadership in the arts and culture sector. In recent years this has included the CEO of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (FOPAC), Colleen Smith, the Minister of Energy, Minds and Resources at the Niagara Artists Centre (NAC), Stephen Remus, and the Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, David Vivian.  

  Students conceptualize the events through an examination of the complexities of planning and creating public productions. Each group integrates the technical and business demands with the creative experience. And what was the overwhelming advice from the panelists at a recent presentation? Keep the production – the art – at the centre of the plan. 

  Art is the most important part of an artistic event, and I realized that it’s easy to lose sight of that in all the technicalities and logistics of planning, but it’s important to always come back to it.
  Hannah Cain (Student, STAC 3P93, Winter 2022). 

  Impressed by the enthusiasm and originality of the students’ proposals, the panelists encourage students to further explore their ideas and make suggestions of how to take their work from the classroom into the community. Some students have received invitations to pursue the projects with the community partners.  

  Fleshing out a fully comprehensive plan, and then having the opportunity to pitch our performance event not only created an opportunity to apply my learning from the myriad of lesson materials but also gave me the experience of working with a team of other passionate peers whom I could see myself working with in the future…theory alone cannot teach the valuable life lessons that occur when you get your hands dirty and create something that excites you.
  Skye Rogers (Student, STAC 3P93, Winter 2022). 

  STAC 3P93 Producing a Performance Event will be available for registration in the Fall session of 2023-24. 

  Tags: 3P93, arts and culture, Colleen Smith, community, david vivian, Producing a Performance Event, STAC 3P93, Steve Remus
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News, STAC Courses

• Spirit of Mali visits St. Catharines

  Monday, January 16, 2023 | By dvivian

  

  The Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, with the support of the Departments of Dramatic Arts, Music, and Visual Arts at the MIWSFPA, in collaboration with the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures and with the support of Brock International, Social Justice Research Institute, Department of History, Brock University Faculty Association, and the Office of Human Rights and Equity, are collaborating with Solidarité des femmes et familles interconnectées francophones du Niagara (SOFIFRAN, Welland sofifran.org ), the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (FOPAC, St. Catharines firstontariopac.ca ), and Impressions de Terre ( impressionsdeterre.com ), under the patronage of the Embassy of Mali in Ottawa, to produce an exhibit on art and culture from Mali, accompanied by live music performances and documentary films:

  Spirit of Mali

  with Stève Viès, multidisciplinary artist

  February 1-10, 2023
  Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines ON

  Exhibition hours
  Wednesday, February 1 and Thursday, February 2: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  Friday, February 3: 12:00 pm to 9:30 pm
  Saturday, February 4: 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm
  Sunday, February 5 thru Thursday, February 9: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  Friday, February 10: 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm

  Guided Tour & Discussion / Visite guidée & table ronde: Friday, February 3, 2023,
  7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
  featuring a guided tour of the exhibition by Stève Viès, curator, followed by a panel discussion about the exhibition and the art, with contributions by Gertrude Brew (graduate student, MA in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts (SCLA), Brock University), Nafée Faigou (St. Catharines artist, poet and community leader), Olatunji Ojo (Historian, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Brock University), Jean Ntakirutimana (linguist and language teacher, Associate Professor of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Brock University).  They will offer reactions, commentary, personal experiences and celebrations of the art on exhibit. This will be followed by a brief Q&A.
  All are welcome!

  Opening/Vernissage for the arts and cultural program: Saturday, February 4, 2023,
  5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, including cocktail reception at 7:00 pm
  with guest artist Amadou Kiénou

  Closing: Friday, February 10, 2023
  6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, closing reception
  with guest artists Justine Djoléi Gogoua and Amadou Kiénou
  
  The exhibit and special events are free and open to the public.
  The exhibit and special events are drop-in, no tickets or registration is required.
  Programming will be offered in French and in English.
  See the event listing at the FOPAC for more information.

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  See the video produced by Impressions de Terre in our youtube channel.

  ---

  Listen to the interview by Karl Dockstader of CKTB 610 with Professor Jean Ntakirutimana, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Brock University.

  www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/audio/the-drive-with-karl-dockstader-jean-ntakirutimana-associate-professor-of-the-department-of-modern-languages-literatures-and-cultures-brock-university-1.19173483?mode=Article

  ---

  Listen to the interview by Isabelle Ménard of CBC/Radio-Canada with Stève Viès, artist, educator and curator of the exhibit.  (en français)
  Le mois de l’histoire des Noirs : Exposition Esprit du Mali
  https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/dans-la-mosaique/segments/entrevue/431062/exposition-esprit-mali-steve-vies

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  Read the article in Le Régional (Welland, en français. click to open PDF)
  Voici l’écho francophone de l’événement : https://leregional.com/sofifran-presente-la-diversite-culturelle-du-mali/

  ---

  See the gallery of photographs from the opening events on the SOFIFRAN website.

  ---

  

  Exhibition as presented at TOHU of the Cité des arts du cirque in Montreal, QC.

  The exhibition

  The Spirit of Mali exhibition is the culmination of a remarkable collective effort, orchestrated by Stève Viès and produced by several great master craftsmen of Mali: Boubacar Doumbia, Mamoudo Nango, Tiorri Diarra and Abou Konan

  Bogolan textile art and sculptural art are a national pride. Bogolan means ‘the action of clay on fabric’. Earth-colored dyes are made from foliage and bark. Sculpture plays a significant role in cultural tradition and story­ telling. The puppet is used for street theatre and in folk festivals. The Dogon mask dance, or funeral dance, is a sacred and mysterious practice within the rich cultural heritage of Mali.

  The Spirit of Mali Exhibition is committed to valuing and preserving traditional knowledge. More than ever, this diverse and beautiful collection of Malian culture expresses an awareness of deep wisdom and rich spirituality. It transmits to us the strength of action in solidarity, weaves the creative web that unites our differences and reminds us of the importance of cultivating peace to make room for prosperity.

  The exhibition will be installed in the Robertson Theatre of the FOPAC with smaller elements and digital media to be installed at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts as part of the STAC project: Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-en-valise.

  About Stève Viès

  Originally from La Loire, France, Stève Viès is a Montreal based artist and educator whose work celebrates the rich cultural heritage and diverse artisan traditions of West Africa.

  It was in 2008, in Mali, with his meeting of two great masters of textile art, Boubacar Doumbia and Mamoudou Nango, that his vision to preserve and share this great cultural tradition became clearer.

  The Spirit of Mali exhibition is representative of 20 years of passion and exchange for the art and culture of Mandé.

  Please check this webpage regularly for program updates. See also the event listing at the FOPAC for more information.

  This project is supported by the Faculty of Humanities Dean’s Discretionary Fund and the Social Justice Research Institute at Brock University, as well as Brock International, the Department of History, the Brock University Faculty Association, and the Office of Human Rights and Equity, as well as government and community partners.

  A short teaser video of the exhibition including images from when presented at TOHU of the Cité des arts du cirque in Montreal, QC, and including the guest artists Justine Djoléi Gogoua and Amadou Kiénou.
  

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  part of:

  Festiv’Ébène 2023

  produced by SOFIFRAN

  

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  A short teaser video about the artists performing at the closing festivities for Festiv’Ébène 2023 on February 25, 2023, at École secondaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf 620, chemin River Welland (Ontario) L3B 5N4.

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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  Tags: African Heritage Month, BHM/AHM, Black History Month, brock international, Brock University Faculty Association, BUFA, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, Department of History, Festiv’Ébène, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, FOPAC, Gertrude Brew (graduate student, Human Rights and Equity, Jean Ntakirutimana, MA in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts (SCLA), Nafée Faigou, SJRI, Social Justice Research Institute, SOFIFRAN, Spirit of Mali, STAC, Stève Viès
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

• What I want you to see is this…

  Thursday, November 24, 2022 | By dvivian

  

  A group exhibition providing a glimpse into the lives of students.

  NOV 21, 2022 – JAN. 15, 2023
  (pause: Dec. 10 – Jan. 3)

  Opening Reception: Nov. 25 from 4 – 7 p.m.
  Hallway gallery, adjacent to the MIW Theatre

  If you had 2-3 minutes, and you wanted an audience to know what it was like, in 2022, to be you, as a student, what would you say/display? What demands does the academic institution place on you?

  Encouraged to address the challenges they encounter at university, and taking inspiration from activities interlocking various concepts, participants in Social Class and Social Conflict (Criminology, Department of Sociology, Brock University) made photos of their environment and told their stories in short audio recordings. The result are short videos exemplifying individual experiences that would otherwise go unrepresented.

  The Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture invites visitors to enter a respectful space, listen to these poignant testimonials, and see what the students want us to see.

  Participating artists include:

  Ahaz
  Shakur
  Blake Gowling
  Colter Styrna
  Daniel Zelazko
  Emilie Oakes
  Ermal
  Faith Westman
  Gage Mitchener
  Hiral
  Isha Brar
  Lauren
  Lee Marie
  Madelyn Sturgeon
  Maeve Martin
  Mary Oghene
  Meera
  Morgan Damery
  Nicole N. Mellor
  Nisha U
  Noor Warraich
  Rashika
  Sara Ourga
  Zonny Boateng

  and two anonymous contributors.

  Curators: David Vivian, Catherine Parayre, and Miles Howe
  Assistant Curator: Gertrude Brew

  ---

  Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-en-valise

  Museum in the Hallway / Boîte-en-valise is a rotating exhibit of material culture in two display cases situated in the east alcove on the second floor between the theatre entrances of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. The program consists of five exhibits, including objects and evidence of course outcomes and workshops delivered by special guests (including a Walker Cultural Leader for 2022-23). “Boîte-en-valise” is an expression coined by avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp to refer to the aesthetic value of collecting and assembling.

  The small thematic curated exhibitions will have a duration of 4-6 weeks up to 4 months duration. The onsite program will rotate to display cases of the James Gibson Library when possible and will be amplified and celebrated in related communication pieces and image galleries posted to the STAC website.

  Tags: Catherine Parayre, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, Criminology, david vivian, Gertrude Brew, Miles Howe, Museum in the Hallway, Sociology, STAC, What I want you to see is this
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, STAC Courses, Uncategorised

• Brock students create sound art through experiential learning

  Tuesday, December 07, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  Published in The Brock News | MONDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2021 | by Gillian Minaker

  A group of Brock University students have learned to engage with their sonic environments in new and unexpected ways, and are sharing their discoveries through creative sound art.

  This past spring, 72 students in Brock’s “The Culture of Noise” course had the opportunity to gain hands-on sound experience in sound production, execute their own soundwalk recording and learn how to use digital editing software.

  Their work is now being featured on the course’s web page for listeners to take in.

  Offered annually as a Spring/Summer course through the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC) at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), STAC 1P99 The Culture of Noise explores the role of noise in music, art and social spaces.

  The course delves into the history of sound studies from the influences of the Dada art movement to the groundbreaking theories of late Canadian composer, writer and influential sound theorist R. Murray Schafer.

  Taught by Ryan Bruce, MIWSFPA instructor, ethnomusicologist, jazz historian and saxophonist, the course had students conduct a soundwalk and create a finished recording that could be included in exhibitions to help build student portfolios for future opportunities.

  Bruce wanted students to really start listening and opening their ears to sound, whether it was music or noise.

  “Composers of the 20th century were very interested in this concept, starting from the early 1900s when noise was used as way to make music,” he said. “Early sound theorists turned music on its head and shed light on the value of listening and our ears.”

  Students worked in teams of three, with one recording a 25-minute soundwalk using a sound recording device; one editing the recording on Audacity (sound-editing software) to produce a final three-minute soundscape; and one reflecting on the process and writing a description to accompany the work.

  Bruce said that soundwalks “are a very interesting exercise, especially these days, as it forces us to be quiet while actively listening.”

  As a result, students learned about how sound impacts environment and gained experience with production tools to express their creative findings.

  David Vivian, Director of STAC and Associate Professor of Scenography in Dramatic Arts, reflected on the timing of this exercise in relation to the pandemic.

  “The last many months of the pandemic have given us indelible experiences that are rich material for creative exploration in sound,” he said. “This past spring’s offering of STAC 1P99 was an excellent opportunity for students from across the University to explore the possibility of sound design to make sense of these troubled times.

  “We look forward to even more provocative and revealing expressions in sound when we offer this online course in spring 2022,” Vivian said.

  To listen to the final soundscapes created by STAC 1P99 students, visit the Culture of Noise web page.

  Tags: 1P99, CCEE, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, Experiential Education, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, MIWSFPA, Ryan Bruce, soundwalk, STAC, STAC 1P99 The Culture of Noise
  Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News, STAC Courses, Uncategorised

• Celebrated Canadian artist Michael Snow’s contribution to Brock revisited in new documentary

  Thursday, August 19, 2021 | By dvivian

  

  A still image from the new documentary short Timed Images premiering Friday, Aug. 20 at the Mighty Niagara Film Fest. The film was produced and researched by Lesley Bell with video work and direction by Tracy Van Oosten.

  WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2021 | The Brock News | by Gillian Minaker

  The legacy and impact of artwork created for Brock University in 1972 by internationally regarded Canadian artist Michael Snow has been captured on film and is being premiered Friday, Aug. 20 at a local film festival.

  Part of the Mighty Niagara Film Fest presented by Niagara Artists Centre (NAC), Timed Images is a new documentary that intimately explores two works of public art created by Snow when he was engaged by Brock University and architect Raymond Moriyama during the construction of Brock’s Mackenzie Chown Complex in 1972. Snow holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Brock University received in 1974.

  The short documentary is produced and researched by Lesley Bell, artist and retired support staff for the Department of Visual Arts (VISA) at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), and directed by Brock graduate Tracy Van Oosten (BA ’10), artist, filmmaker and current VISA Instructor at the MIWSFPA.

  Bell, who managed Brock’s Fine Art Collection for 18 years, was drawn to Snow’s work and wanted to uncover the story behind his pieces and appreciate how they found their home in St. Catharines.

  Bell and Van Oosten, a filmmaker and artist who works with text, video and installations and explores moving images within immersive contexts, collaborated to create an artistic documentary that retraces Snow’s innovative art that delighted the University population in 1972.

  “In order to tell the story about these two artworks by Snow, I envisioned a video document. I had no understanding of the process,” Bell said. “With patience and skill, Tracy Van Oosten crafted the information that I found into an intelligent and visually stimulating artistic video work. This has been a satisfying collaboration.”

  Timed Images screens Friday, Aug. 20 at the RiverBrink Art Museum in Queenston, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Doors open at 8 p.m., with the screening scheduled to start at sunset. The documentary is part of an art-inspired program at NAC’s film fest called ‘An Ode to Escarpment School Films.

  For more information about Timed Images and to purchase tickets, visit the Mighty Niagara Film Fest website.

  This project is supported by David Vivian, the Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, and Dean Carol Merriam of the Faculty of Humanities, through the Dean’s Discretionary Fund (2020). An installation for the public to view Timed Images at the MIWSFPA and online is currently in development.

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  Tags: Carol Merriam, Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, david vivian, Dean's Discretionary Fund, Department of Visual Arts, Humanities, lesley bell, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, michael snow, MIWSFPA, NAC, Niagara Artists Centre, STAC, The Mighty Niagara Film Fest, Tracy Van Oosten, Visual Arts
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News, Uncategorised