Announcements

  • Post-Industrial Ephemera: Soundings, Gestures and Poetics

    close up of an industrial building and window

    Photo credit: Derek Knight

    Post-Industrial Ephemera: Soundings, Gestures and Poetics
    Silo-City welcomes you to an exhibition featuring artists on both sides of the Niagara River

    April 22 – 29, 2017
    105 Silo-City Row, Buffalo, NY 14203, U.S.
    Opening Reception: Saturday, April 22 from 2 – 5 pm
    http://www.silo.city
    Click here for directions
    Free community event

    Buffalo, New York and St. Catharines, Ontario are neighboring cities separated by a river and a border, but they also nurture a strong sense of regional togetherness and cultural kinship. Colleagues in Sculpture, Arts, Comparative Literature, English Studies, Visual Arts, Studies in Arts and Culture, and French Studies at SUNY on the U.S. side and Brock University on the Canadian side will share a common space at Silo-City, Buffalo between April 22 – 29. Coming from different places and practices, we wish to foster interdisciplinarity.

    Together, we want to reflect on the notion of dispersal. A concrete monument, an overwhelming structure, Silo-City is also a crucible of ephemeralities – sounds dissipating as they echo up the walls, the wind blowing through hollow buildings, the decay of objects deposited in the empty halls, the temporary presence of others, productive resonances of creative experiences. Is Silo-City a memorial? Silos are built to maintain large networks of commodity exchange for human and animal sustenance. Here, however, the workers are gone; the buildings are exposed to inclement weather; the projects we bring with us will disappear, be dispersed or displaced. Silo-City, despite its imposing constructions, invites visitors to become more perceptive to the transience of human endeavours.

    We will plant colourful seedpods, install a neon sign in tribute to the Buffalo river that flows by Silo-City, crush words out of their discourse, scatter mourning songs for long gone lives, bring images, noise and stories from other places. We will capture the brilliance of a moment.

    A follow-up one-day symposium at Rodman Hall Art Centre, St. Catharines will document and revive the exhibition on September 16, 2017.

    The opening will include performances by Harmonia Chamber Singers, Reinhard Reitzenstein, Lauren Regier, Continuous Monument, Catherine Parayre and Jim Watkins 

    Curators: Catherine Parayre, Reinhard Reitzenstein

    Click here to download the performance program.

    For more images and information, please visit the exhibition website.

     

    University of Buffalo art dept, Rodman Hall, Harmonia, Marilyn I Walker, Silo City and Brock University faculty of Humanities logs in a row


    Participating artists: 

    ArtIndustria+
    Untitled (neon sign)

    ArtIndustria+ was formed in 1995 by Derek Knight and Franc Petric, two Canadian artists who reside in the Niagara region. Motivated by the desire to work collaboratively, they have developed projects over the years with a focus on art, research and technology. Underlining their concerns with the dialectical relationship between ecology and industry, their conceptual models combine installation techniques and situational aesthetics to further examine the artist’s role in post-industrial society.

    Continuous Monument
    Silo Sessions at the American (noise/drone performance)

    Continuous Monument is an affiliation of interdisciplinary culture-makers working among design, text, architecture and sound fields. Born from the ashes of a contaminated political landscape, Continuous Monument gathers to spatialize sound and signal in temporary, site specific soundscape improvisations. Monument will perform at The American in Silo City as an acoustic inhabitation; live ghosts active in remnant industrial anatomy.

    Akasya Crosier
    Likeness (typeface study)

    Akasya Crosier is a multifaceted artist based in Western New York. She is currently a senior at UB studying Studio Art and Communication. In her artwork, she focuses on effective communication skills, idealized spaces, and bright imagery.

    Catherine Parayre (assisted by Josh Dawson, SUNY and Paul Savoie, Brock U)
    Ingrained Words (14 posters: assembled fragments from texts by 33 writers)

    Catherine works in Arts and Culture, and in Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Brock University. She is particularly interested in contemporary Occitan literature, as well as the co-presence of literatures and visual arts. She includes her four languages in her creative work.

    Catherine Parayre and Jim Watkins
    The Silo-Minder (recording, reading)

    Jim Watkins lives in Silo-City and is our silo-minder/keeper. His passion for the arts and for Silo-City is central to our cross-border project.

    Lauren Regier
    Where I stand is fair and square (performance/grass seed & dirt)

    Lauren Regier is Honours graduate from Brock University’s Visual Arts program, and is an emerging artist based in the Niagara Region. Much of her work is inspired by the notion of functionality and relationships between the industrial world and the natural realm. Interested in the experiential nature of contemporary art, her practice includes photography, installation, performance, drawing and video.

    Reinhard Reitzenstein
    ArbreTreeBaum (vocal piece in 5 languages)

    Reitzenstein has held over 100 solo exhibitions and over 300 group exhibitions globally, and has completed over 25 public and private art commissions. His work is represented in more than 50 public and corporate collections internationally. Reitzenstein has been Director of the Sculpture Program at, SUNY, Buffalo since 2000. He is represented by the Olga Korper Gallery in Toronto.

    Casey Ridings
    Untitled Emotion (acrylic paint)

    Casey Ridings is currently a Graphic Design student at the University at Buffalo. She is intrigued by the geometric nature of organic patterns; through a spontaneous and intuitive process she creates intricate paintings and drawings inspired by the exploration of her experiences and emotions.

    Cody Schriever
    Vanity Case / Skeletons of Perception (painting/sculpture)

    Cody Schriever is a student in the University at Buffalo art department. His paintings and sculptures deal with human nature, and the structures of its self-perception. By combining various styles of painting and modes of expression he creates a complex narrative of the global condition.

    Shawn Serfas
    Alloyed (acrylic)

    Shawn is an Assistant Professor in the Visual Arts Department, Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. His research interests include contemporary painting, drawing and printmaking practices concerning relational abstraction, environmental aesthetics, religion, the landscape as well as issues bordering abstraction and representation.

    Lucas Veraldi
    2mp (inkjet prints)

    Lucas is an artist currently residing in Buffalo, NY. His practice examines the different methods of representation that exist within the realm of photography and explores the truth value that a photograph holds as a piece data that showcases life.

    Sophia Yung
    Voyage Voyage 

    Sophia Yung is a Chinese American graphic designer and artist from Brooklyn, NY. Her most recent work involves the analysis of Asian American culture shock, language barriers, mixed martial arts and the role of financial capital in the precarious 21st century.

    Jean Zhu
    bacteria (video)

    Jean Zhu is currently a Media Study student at the University at Buffalo. She is both a photographer and a filmmaker. Her experimental films and straightforward photographs of everyday objects and scenes are noted for their color combination, explicit composition and rich content.


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    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Honours Applications: VISA 4F06, 3F99 and 4F99 due May 1, 2017.

    VISA Students: Reminder that Honours Applications for VISA 4F06, 3F99 and 4F99 are due by May 1, 2017. There are hard copies available in the Visa office or if you email Monika Lederich at mlederich@brocku.ca she can send you digital copies.

    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Mahtay Cafe opens at the MIWSFPA

    The brand new Mahtay café is now open on the third floor student lounge area! Hours of operation are:

    Mon – Fri from 8:30 am to 2pm.

    Please note that the permanency of this café will be based on its success here at the Marilyn I. Walker School. So take some time on your breaks to get up there and enjoy reasonable prices and excellent food and drinks!

    The location is 3rd floor at the south end of the building (lobby), take that elevator to the 3rd floor (not connected to the 3rd floor at the other end) or take stairwell “D”.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Visa Student Monitor positions available

    The Visual Arts Department is hiring a number of student monitor positions, deadline for application is July 26th. Click here for more details on these positions.

    Monitor positions available:

    4th Floor Student Monitor(s): Your supervisor will be Arnold McBay, VISA Facilities Technician.

    Gallery Student Monitor(s) Fall/Winter: Your supervisor for this position will be Lesley Bell, Learning Commons Coordinator.

    Gallery Student Monitor(s) Spring/Summer: Your supervisor for this position will be Lesley Bell, Learning Commons Coordinator.

    Kiosk Student Monitor(s): Your supervisor for this position will be Lesley Bell, Learning Commons Coordinator.

    Learning Commons Monitor(s): Your supervisor for this position will be Lesley Bell, Learning Commons Coordinator.

    Photography Studio Monitor(s): Your supervisor for this position will be Amy Friend, Assistant Professor.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, News

  • Visual Arts professor holding exhibition in Toronto

    (Source: The Brock Press, Thursday, December 22, 2011)

    Jean Bridge, associate professor of Visual Arts, is having an exhibit of her work in Toronto on Jan. 4 to 28.

    The exhibition Around the Block uses multi-channel video and audio. It distills a collection of images of a typical urban neighbourhood into a video continuum.

    The exhibit will be at the Red Head Gallery at 401 Richmond St. W suite 115.

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    Categories: Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Interacting with Immersive Worlds Conference Organizers Announce Newly Reduced Registration Fees

    Interacting with Immersive Worlds: Third Brock University Conference on the Interactive Arts & Sciences

    BROCK UNIVERSITY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO JUNE 13th – 14th, 2011

    https://brocku.ca/conferences/immersive-worlds

    Thanks to a combination of generous support from the City of St.Catharines and corporate sponsorship we are delighted to announce that we are able to reduce our conference registration fees to:

    Regular: $150.00
    Student: $75.00

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, News

  • Interacting with Immersive Worlds conference announces Guest Appearance by Dejan Momcilovic of WETA Studios, New Zealand

    Interacting with Immersive Worlds: Third Brock University Conference on the Interactive Arts & Sciences

    BROCK UNIVERSITY, ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO JUNE 13th – 14th, 2011

    https://brocku.ca/conferences/immersive-worlds

    We are excited to announce that Dejan Momcilovic of WETA studios, New Zealand, will give a talk on Monday June 13th on “Lord of the Rings,” “King Kong,” and “Avatar” and motion capture, prior to the guided tour of the motion capture studio at the Generator at one. Further details will be announced on the conference web site as they become available.

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    Categories: Announcements, News

  • First Marilyn I. Walker endowed Chair in Creativity, Imagination and Innovation announced

    (Source: The Brock News, Wednesday, February 10, 2010)

    Brock has announced the creation and first recipient of the Marilyn I. Walker Chair in Creativity, Imagination and Innovation.

    The Chair is awarded to the Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts for the duration of their term as Director. Derek Knight, the current Director of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, is the first person to hold the position. The endowed Chair supports building the school’s programs, enhancing its facilities and positioning it to be one of the best fine arts schools in North America.

    “Today we are announcing the first privately endowed Chair in the history of Brock,” said President Jack Lightstone. “This Chair represents a major step in the development of our University because it helps us fulfill our blueprint for the future — which includes fostering research and creative activity, expanding graduate and professional programs, enhancing interdisciplinary studies and community engagement. Our goal is to establish endowed chairs in all six faculties at Brock.”

    Jack Lightstone, Marilyn I. Walker, Derek Knight, Rosemary Hale

    From left: Jack Lightstone, Marilyn I. Walker, Derek Knight, Rosemary Hale

    Renowned Canadian fibre artist Marilyn I. Walker made the Chair possible with a $15 million gift to the University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts in November 2008 — the largest donation the University has ever received. The gift was endowed in perpetuity to support the future improvement of the School and its programming. This Chair represents the first tangible outcome of this vision.

    “This announcement is about advancing the arts at Brock and in Niagara,” said Rosemary Hale, Dean, Faculty of Humanities. “It is also about enhancing our capacity to play a key role in partnering with our surrounding communities to influence the cultural redevelopment of our region as we work to build a world-class arts facility for our students, faculty, staff and patrons.”

    Funds associated with the Chair will be used to support programming and investments at the School to build up its and University’s reputation in the area of fine and performing arts.

    Derek Knight has worked at Brock since 1985. He teaches courses in 20th century European and North American art history, contemporary art and theory, and contributes to the MA program in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts. In addition to his own production of photo-based, conceptual and site-specific art and participation in more than thirty group shows, Knight has developed a profile as an independent curator.

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  • Auction supports arts scholarships

    (Source: The Brock Press, Thursday, December 3, 2009)

    An ongoing auction in the lobby of the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre is raising money for arts scholarships.

    The first Faculty, Staff and Alumni Fine Art Auction benefits the Marilyn I. Walker Scholarship Fund. The Department of Visual Arts – the host of the auction – plans to make it an annual event.

    The silent auction features a variety of works, with represented mediums including painting, printmaking, sculpture and photography. This special occasion will allow auction attendees to add to their art collection in a philanthropic manner, the department said in a media release.

    The auction started Thursday, Nov. 26 and runs until Friday, Dec. 11. There will be a closing reception from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Dec. 11 in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre lobby. Cash or cheques will be accepted.

    Faculty, staff and community art enthusiasts can preview the works during Centre for the Arts box office hours. Those are:

    Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
    Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

    For more information, contact Marie Balsom at mbalsom@brocku.ca or 905-688-5550 x4765.

    Related links:
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

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    Categories: Announcements, In the Media, News