Articles tagged with: Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

• Art residency “A River Rises” now on view

  Friday, January 15, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  Caption: Brown Homestead (Photo by Shawn Serfas)

  STAC’s Research Centre in Interdisciplinary Arts and Creative Culture presents “A River Rises,” a collective investigation of a creative-writing piece, resulting in the creation of photography work, a recorded performance, an inverted sculpture, an experimental book, and more fiction writing. The project also documents the Brown Homestead, in close proximity of Short Hills Provincial Park and the oldest building in St. Catharines.

  View A River Rises here.

  To learn more about the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, please visit the STAC website.

  Tags: Catherine Parayre, centre for studies in arts and culture, Derek Knight, humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, Nicholas Hauck, Shawn Serfas, stac, STAC Research Centre
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News, Uncategorised

• Jan. 18, 2021: Walker Cultural Leaders Series features artists Jamelie Hassan & Ron Benner

  Thursday, January 14, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  The Walker Cultural Leader Series continues in 2021, beginning with an engaging talk from artists Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner on Monday, Jan. 18. The series continues in a virtual format for the 2021 season.

  Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 at 7 p.m.

  View the presentation premiere and join in the chat on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts YouTube channel.

  Jamelie Hassan, born in London, Ontario, of Arabic background, is a visual artist and long-time member of CARFAC who is also active as a lecturer, writer, and independent curator. She has organized both national and international programs including Orientalism and Ephemera, a national touring exhibition, originally presented at Art Metropole, Toronto and most recently Dar’a/Full Circle for Artcite Inc. Windsor, ON. She was one of the founders of two artist-run centres in London, Ontario: the Forest City Gallery (1973-present) and the Embassy Cultural House (1983-1990). Her work is represented in numerous public collections in Canada and internationally, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Morris & Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC ; and the Library of Alexandria ,Alexandria, Egypt. Other recent projects and group exhibitions where her works have been featured include, Here: Contemporary Canadian Art, curated by Swapnaa Tamhane, Aga Khan Museum (2017); Toronto: Tributes + Tributaries, 1971 -1989, curated by Wanda Nanibush, Art Gallery of Ontario (2016 – 2017); In Order to Join: the Political in a Historical Moment, organized by Museum Abteilberg in Monchengladbach, Germany (2013-14) and Mumbai, India (2015). Receipient of numerous awards, in  2001 she received the Govenor General’s Award in Visual Arts and in 2018 an honorary doctorate from OCAD University, Toronto. For more information visit: www.jameliehassan.ca 

  Ron Benner is an internationally recognized, London, Ontario – based artist whose longstanding practice investigates the history and political economy of food cultures. Benner originally studied agriculture engineering at the University of Guelph 1969/70. Finding himself ethically opposed to industrial agriculture and bioengineering, he began to travel and research the politics of food. In 1995, he began working with Rural Advancement Foundation International, Ottawa (RAFI). In 2000 he was awarded the Canada Council Studio in Paris. In 2005 he participated in Art, Geography and Invisibility at an international geography symposium in Olot, Catalonia, the University of Barcelona, Spain. In 2010 he was appointed Adjunct Research Professor in the Visual Arts Department, Western University, London, ON. Ron Benner’s mixed media installation works, including commissions of  photographic-garden installations, have been shown in solo and group exhibitions at Museum London, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Western University, London, Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario and many other galleries, museums and cultural institutions in Canada and internationally. His work is included in numerous public collections both in Canada and internationally including the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario. He has recently been appointed artist in residence in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, 2020-2023.
  For more information, please visit: www.ronbenner.ca

  For more information on upcoming Walker Cultural Leader Series events, please visit the webpage.

  Tags: Department of Visual Arts, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, VISA, visual arts, Walker Cultural Leaders
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News, Uncategorised, Walker Cultural Leader Series

• Department of Music Virtual Ensembles – The Show Zooms On

  Thursday, January 14, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  Brock Music ensembles have gone virtual for the 2020-21 performance season! The Department of Music Virtual Ensembles present a virtual concert series The Show Zooms On featuring:

  The University Wind Ensemble, Zoltan Kalman, Conductor
  The Choral Ensemble, Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Conductor
  The University String Orchestra, George Cleland, Conductor
  The University Jazz Ensemble, Zoltan Kalman, Conductor

  The first virtual performance premieres Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 with the Wind Ensemble:

  January 15, 2021 – 7 p.m.
  Wind Ensemble, Zoltan Kalman, Director
  View the YouTube Premiere

  View the Wind Ensemble January 15 program here.

  For the 2020-21 season, the performances will be broadcasted virtually on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts YouTube channel. Please visit our Concerts page for more information.

  Tags: department of music, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, university wind ensemble
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, News

• BIPOC Speaker Series welcomes Tanisha Taitt

  Monday, January 11, 2021 | By gminaker

  

  The DART/MIWSFPA 2020-21 BIPOC Speaker Series presents:

  CONSCIOUSNESS IN COLOUR: INTERCULTURAL SCENE STUDY FOR CONTEMPORARY CLASSROOMS WITH TANISHA TAITT

  Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021
  7 to 8:30 p.m.
  Via Zoom
  To register and receive Zoom details, please RSVP via ExperienceBU: experiencebu.brocku.ca/event/172561

  Tanisha Taitt is Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre and a director/actor/playwright, musical artist, accidental essayist, and audiobook director with Penguin Random House Canada. In this talk she will focus on her work as a theatre and anti-racism educator.

  Supported by the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation at Brock University in partnership with Niagara Community Foundations.

  2020-21 BIPOC Speaker Series
  Conversations in which Black, Indigenous, and people of colour theatre leaders address issues of interest to the theatre community, and beyond. For more information and upcoming speaker announcements, please visit the BIPOC Speaker Series webpage.

  Tags: dart, DART/MIWSFPA BIPOC Speaker Series, Department of Dramatic Arts, humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, Tanisha Taitt
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Media Releases, News

• Brock students and newcomers to Canada unite online to create socially conscious theatre

  Friday, December 18, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Originally published in The Brock News TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 | by Gillian Minaker

  The shift to online learning has not stopped Brock Dramatic Arts and Faculty of Education students from connecting with newcomers, educators and theatre makers around the globe.

  While in-person activities are limited or non-existent due to the pandemic, students in Social Issues Theatre for Community Engagement (DART 3F93) are virtually meeting with newcomers to learn about their journey to Canada.

  The result is meaningful collaboration and the creation of applied theatre pieces rooted in issues of social justice.

  Half of the students taking the course are studying Dramatic Arts. The other half are pursuing dramatic arts as a teachable subject through their Concurrent Education program, which allows students to earn both their undergraduate degree and a Bachelor of Education concurrently.

  The Social Issues Theatre for Community Engagement course builds on a long history between the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART), Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre (NFAMC) and Brock University.

  In August 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding between Brock and the NFAMC was signed, solidifying a partnership between the two organizations aiming to address challenges for newcomers to Niagara and provide them with support through community-based actions. It was part of Brock’s ongoing community engagement efforts which create meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships that support social and economic development.

  Over a number of years, DART has had many collaborations with the NFAMC that have enriched the educational and creative experiences of Brock students and community members.

  This community engagement and scholarship continues to thrive online during the pandemic, offering students an experiential learning opportunity to gain valuable skills developed through the teachings of Dramatic Arts.

  The year-long course is taught by Rachel Rhoades, Assistant Professor of Applied Theatre, Dramatic Arts. Rhoades has worked as an applied theatre practitioner, educator and researcher for 12 years in community- and school-based settings in Boston, Toronto and now at Brock.

  Rhoades describes applied theatre as a creative tool for social change that is often mounted in non-traditional performance spaces and says different communities can come together to exchange stories of their lived experiences and create art based on these exchanges.

  The outcome is evocative theatre that promotes learning and healthy discussion around strategies for change and social justice in marginalized communities.

  

  In a photo taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brock students from Social Issues Theatre for Community Engagement (DART 3F93) rehearse their applied theatre play Identities Relocated at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

   

  Applied theatre techniques can assist communities in articulating issues, enhancing understanding of their complexity and planning future actions.

  As learning shifted online this fall, Rhoades organized the “Global Guest Speaker Series” as part of the course. Each week, a guest artist facilitated virtual workshops.

  As a result of these workshops, students and volunteer newcomers from Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Angola and China created theatre scenes together that were performed virtually as part of the course work.

  Guest speakers have included: Brisa Areli Muñoz, Artistic Director of the Applied Theatre Collective, and Manager of Community Partnerships for The Public Theatre in New York City; Varshini Pichemuthu, co-founder of the RootPrints Theatre company in London, England; Taiwo Afolabi, Canada Research Chair in Theatre and many more from India, Singapore and Toronto.

  Inviting guest speakers from the arts and education field is a way Rhoades is using online platforms to the classes’ advantage and embracing the opportunity to promote global connections during a time of isolation.

  “The community members (newcomers) have expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share their stories and opinions on how to resolve major issues through their experiential knowledge,” Rhoades says.

  Rhoades’ academic background in education and applied theatre is connected to her ongoing research. She is guiding young people to develop relationships with marginalized communities so there can be a mutually beneficial experience.

  In this model, students listen to the experiences of newcomers allowing them to learn from a cross-cultural context. In turn, this process can help newcomers feel affirmed and valued, recognizing and honouring their strength through adversity.

  “The students have gained much inspiration from hearing the stories of resilience from the community members, and the collaboration has really opened their eyes to the struggles of peoples around the world,” Rhoades says, adding that the students are improving as educators and artists, and also acquiring knowledge on strategies to demand and develop a more just society. Now, more than ever, these community collaborations are vital to a bright and inclusive future, she says.

  Tags: Applied Theatre, community engagement, dart, DART 3F93, Department of Dramatic Arts, FFAMC, humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Cetre, Rachel Rhoades, Social Issues Theatre for Community Engagement
  

• Brock Mitacs award winner takes a closer look at online conspiracy theories

  Saturday, December 12, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Originally published in The Brock News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020 | by Gillian Minaker

  The images we encounter in everyday life have always had an important role to play in our lives. Now, as many daily activities have moved online, these images have the ability to reach a global audience thanks to digital technology.

  But how has this online shift affected the visual culture of conspiracy theories, and what are the implications for society during a pandemic?

  Brock University fourth-year student Ian Ball is examining these questions as part of his research on visual culture and online conspiracy theories. Ball is pursuing a double major in the History of Art and Visual Culture and Dramatic Arts and is a recipient of a Mitacs Research Training Award which he received in the summer.

  Guiding the research project is Linda Steer, Associate Professor in Visual Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

  In his research, Ball has been collecting and analyzing visual images associated with online conspiracy theories. His interest in the subject stems from his area of study, a deep interest in folklore as well as being a fan of the science fiction genre.

  Through the examination and analysis of the images used in relation to conspiracy theories on popular social networking sites, including Facebook and Reddit, Ball has discovered some of the effects these images have on viewers and the emotional responses produced.

  According to Ball, this is especially timely given the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting uncertainty people have been experiencing.

  “A world event that is disrupting the status quo, a lack of control socially, politically, intellectually or in our personal lives, all have the potential to make us feel uncertain,” says Ball. “Research has shown that these factors might play a significant role in conspiratorial beliefs.”

  Ball had originally considered writing an essay on this topic, but Steer suggested a blog because of the accessibility it offers readers.

  “It has been great to supervise Ian’s fascinating and timely research project,” Steer says. “In a world that feels unstable, where we are isolated and looking to social media for answers, images have a lot of power.”

  Ball’s research has uncovered themes relating conspiracy theories to collective experiences of fear, society’s want for protection, and the instinctual desire for control. His project is adding to the discourse on the visual culture of conspiratorial beliefs, a research area that Steer says is fairly new and still developing.

  “It is important that we understand how visual images create meaning: how and why they become attached to certain ideas and how those ideas circulate,” she says.

  Graduating in 2021, Ball plans to use this research project as a foundation for his master’s thesis, looking at the relationships between folklore, visual culture, social messaging, critical thinking and misinformation.

  Visit Ball’s research blog to learn more about the outcomes of his work.

   

  Tags: Department of Visual Arts, History of Arts and Culture, humanities, Ian Ball, Linda Steer, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Mitacs Research Training Award, miwsfpa, VISA
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

• Brock students create innovative video art in the age of COVID-19

  Thursday, December 03, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Caption: Pictured above, Brock students create pandemic video art for class VISA/IASC 2PN7 “Video Art”. Clockwise from top left: Lindsay Liboiron, Isolation; Ama Okafor, A Little Adjustment; Christy Mitchell, Saudade; Jamie Wong, Screen Recording 2020-11-04 at 1.46.14PM.mp4

  As most learning this fall has happened through a screen, Brock arts students have picked up their cameras to explore the new look of video art during a pandemic.

  Students taking Video Art (VISA/IASC 2P97) are virtually screening their reflective and experiential videos in a new series entitled “Video Art in the Age of COVID-19” that can now be viewed on the Department of Visual Arts website and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) YouTube channel.

  This project is led by Donna Szoke, media artist and Associate Professor in Studio Art at the MIWSFPA and supported by an Experiential Education grant from the Centre of Pedagogical Innovation at Brock University.

  As part of the creative and academic process to create the videos, students considered how the pandemic has changed video art and how new visual interfaces have marked this shift. They critically examined the new video aesthetic of the COVID-19 era, and how this has changed perceptions of individuality and collectivity.

  To watch the student-created videos and learn more about their research, please visit the project webpage Video Art in the Age of COVID-19.

   

  Tags: Department of Visual Arts, Donna Szoke, IASC 2P97, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Video Art, VISA, VISA 2P97
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

• Join Studies in Arts and Culture for virtual open office hours

  Monday, November 30, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Catherine Parayre, Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC) will be hosting virtual open office hours on:

  Wednesday, Dec. 2 2020, 1-2 p.m.

  Wanting to know more about arts and culture, arts management, careers in the field? Do you have questions about our STAC courses? For any questions, or just to say hello, don’t hesitate to join Catherine Parayre, Director of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture on Wednesday 2 December 2020 from 1 to 2 pm.

  You are invited to call STAC Virtual Hour 2 Dec 2020 1-2 pm on Lifesize.

  Join the meeting: https://call.lifesizecloud.com/6623799
  Join the Lifesize meeting using Skype for Business: https://skype.lifesizecloud.com/6623799

  Click to call from Mobile (audio only)
  Canada: +1 (844) 572-5683,, 6623799#
  United States: +1 (877) 422-8614,, 6623799#
  United States: +1 (833) 881-5208,, 6623799#

  Call in by Phone (audio only)
  Canada: +1 (844) 572-5683
  United States: +1 (877) 422-8614
  United States: +1 (833) 881-5208

  Meeting extension: 6623799#
  Additional phone numbers: https://call.lifesize.com/numbers
  Other ways to call: https://call.lifesize.com/otherways/6623799

  Tags: Catherine Parayre, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa, stac, studies in arts and culture
  Categories: Events, Future Students, News, Uncategorised

• Dramatic Arts students mount ominous play from award-winning Canadian playwright

  Thursday, November 26, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Originally published in The Brock News WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 | by Gillian Minaker

  Pictured above: Members of Sandbox Theatre, Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts fourth-year student-run company, rehearse a scene for their online production of Concord Floral by Jordan Tannahill.

  Ten teenagers must face their guilt — and their past — in the latest online production offered by Brock University’s Department of Dramatic Arts (DART).

  Sandbox Theatre, Brock’s fourth-year DART student company, will present the evocative play Concord Floral next month through a virtual format.

  Written by Canadian theatre maker Jordan Tannahill, two-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Concord Floral was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Drama in 2016 and has been produced by theatre companies across the country.

  Directed by Dramatic Arts Instructor Ali Joy Richardson, the play will be streamed on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) YouTube channel on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

  Inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s 13th century literary classic The Decameron, the story follows 10 teenagers who are fleeing a plague of their own making after a rumour spreads that two girls have found a body in an abandoned greenhouse called Concord Floral.

  The gripping production features original design, choreography and musical composition by the student cast as they perform virtually from their homes.

  To reserve your free viewing spot on the MIWSFPA YouTube channel, please visit Brock University Tickets.

  While there is no cost for tickets, donations are encouraged in support of the Black Health Alliance, a community-led registered charity working to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada.

   

  Tags: Concord Floral, Department of Dramatic Arts, dramatic arts, humanities, Jordan Tannahill, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, miwsfpa
  Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, News, Uncategorised

• Music@Noon concert series goes virtual

  Monday, November 16, 2020 | By gminaker

  

  Former Music students Gavino Oresta (left) and Eric Godfree perform their recitals during a previous Music@Noon Series event. This year, the concert series will be held online in accordance with public health guidelines.

  The RBC Foundation Music@Noon Series returns Tuesday, Nov. 17, albeit with a new format.

  The anticipated concert series will be held virtually this season, with Brock Music students recording solos from their own homes.

  In the past, performances have taken place live on the stage of the Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC), adjacent to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA). This year, the PAC and Brock’s Department of Music changed the format in accordance with public health guidelines.

  Self-recorded performances from the solo recital students will be streamed Tuesday through the MIWSFPA and PAC YouTube channels and Facebook pages, marking the first online presentation of the 2020-21 concert series.

  Generously sponsored by the RBC Foundation, the free concert series takes place most Tuesdays at noon throughout the academic year. The recitals are open to the public and feature Brock’s performance faculty and special guests, as well as talented students and alumni.

  For full event details, please visit the Music concert listings page.

  Tags: department of music, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, humanities, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, music@noon
  Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Department/Centre News, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised