News

  • Active attacker info sessions to be held at MIWSFPA Nov. 8 & Nov. 14

    Wednesday, November 07, 2018 | By

    (From The Brock News, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018)

    Would you know what to do if there was an active threat or shooter on campus?

    It’s a scenario most people could never imagine happening at Brock University, but one that Campus Security wants to ensure the community is prepared for.

    Campus Security at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) will be holding two information sessions for staff, instructors, faculty and students of the School this month to discuss emergency preparedness in an active attacker situation.

    Rick Fraser, Brock’s Manager, Emergency Management and Life Safety, will be presenting material on the active attacker protocol that has been adopted at the University during these sessions.

    The information and training sessions will take place in MWS 156 on:

    • Thursday, Nov. 8 from 8 to 9 a.m.
    • Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 1 to 2 p.m.

    No registration is required, but the sessions are currently limited to those who study or work at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, due to space limitations.

    For more information on the MIWSFPA sessions, contact Rick Tollar, Supervisor, Campus Security Services, at 905-688-5550 x 6399.

    Information on the active attacker protocol adopted at Brock University is available on the Campus Security website.

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

  • VISA drawing instructor has works published in Concrete & Constraint

    Friday, November 02, 2018 | By

    Arnold McBay, drawing instructor in Brock’s Visual Arts Department, was recently published in the Penteract Press anthology ‘Concrete & Constraint.’ Pictured above is his work: For Alberto #1. 2018. Fixative transfer on wood panel.

    Three recent works by Visual Arts Department drawing instructor Arnold McBay have been published in the upcoming Penteract Press anthology ‘Concrete & Constraint.’ 

    The Press, which publishes experimental poetry leaflets and chapbooks, described the anthology and the collection of works as the following:

    “An anthology of international constrained & visual poetry: 64 full-colour pages of work from 24 poets. The anthology is split into two sections: “Procedural & Permutational,” which focuses on textual and spatial transformations, and “Prohibitive & Plastic,” whose focus is material and conceptual limitations.” 

    McBay’s work is published alongside Samuel Andreyev, Gary Barwin, Derek Beaulieu, Gregory Betts, Christian Bök, Luke Bradford, Franco Cortese, Clara Daneri, Lucy Dawkins, Anthony Etherin, Kyle Flemmer, Helen Frank, Ken Hunt, Nasser Hussain, Ross McCleary, Nick Montfort, Kelly Nelson, Sharon Phillips, Eric Schmaltz, Petra Schulze-Wollgast, Rachel Smith, Andrew Topel and Catherine Vidler.

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Categories: Announcements, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Public talk and exhibition explore selfies and homeownership

    Friday, October 05, 2018 | By

    In his exhibition running until Nov. 7, Alejandro Cartagena has curated a selection of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s vast collection of publicly shared selfies. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena, from the official website of the office of the President of Mexico)

    (From The Brock News, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)

    While acclaimed artist Alejandro Cartagena’s work focuses mainly on suburban life in Mexico, the themes expressed in his photographs bear uncanny resemblances to issues also currently impacting Canadians.

    Brock Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend said it’s that universality that made Cartagena’s work so appealing and was why she invited him to this year’s Walker Cultural Leaders Series at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Alejandro Cartagena, in leaves

    Alejandro Cartagena, an international award-winning artist, self-publisher and editor who lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico, will present a lecture and exhibition as part of the Walker Cultural Leaders Series Oct. 17. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena)

    “I’ve seen Cartagena’s work making an impact in how he is able to question political issues, mostly focused in Mexico, but I think there is a really universal message in what he is presenting,” she said. “It’s also important for students and the public to interact on a personal basis with a successful, working artist. To see that these are real people making real work in the real world — and it’s creating a dialogue.”

    Cartagena is presenting an exhibition, Presidential Guide to Selfies, and giving a public lecture titled Visualizing space and some ideas of homeownership 2006 to 2018.  The exhibition opening reception and the lecture both take place on Wednesday, Oct. 17 and are free and open to the public.

    Hosted in the VISA Gallery and Student Exhibition Space, Presidential Guide to Selfies asks people to question the motives behind Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s vast collection of publicly shared selfies.

    Cartagena has curated a selection of these selfies (currently posted to the President’s Official website) as a means to examine whether these images are being shared to show the Mexican President’s engagement with the people of his country, or whether it is merely an exercise in vanity as he ‘poses with his fans.’
    Cartagena has also created an accompanying photobook for this exhibition in which he details the events surrounding each selfie.

    Friend noted that in an age of cell phones and social media, and with Canada’s own Justin Trudeau often affectionately and critically called ‘Prime Minister Selfie,’ the exhibition’s exploration of politics, social media connectivity and celebrity culture is exceptionally timely.

    Following the gallery opening, Cartagena will explore the interdependence of humans and landscape in the face of urban expansion in a lecture drawing from his own body of work.

    Carpoolers, for example, is comprised of a series of photographs taken of migrant workers travelling around Mexico in the beds of pickup trucks.

    Alejandro Cartagena laying in the back of a truck with construction material top view

    In his public lecture on Oct. 17, Alejandro Cartagena will explore issues of home and ownership through the use of his work such as Carpoolers, which documents migrant workers riding in the back of vehicles. (Photo courtesy of Alejandro Cartagena)

    The images of hardworking labourers travelling from job to job during the harvest season can conjure connections to Niagara’s own large migrant worker population.

    In Ontario alone, tens of thousands of migrant workers come to farms, orchards and greenhouses as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program every year. They work and live in communities in the Niagara Fruit Belt, often spending six to eight months working in the agricultural hub of the province.

    “The idea of ownership floats around in Cartagena’s work, looking at suburban Mexican homes, border issues, migrant issues, issues of poverty and wealth,” said Friend. “It’s quite poignant now, in particular with what is happening with migration issues worldwide, and it also makes us question how we treat our own migrant workers. How do we decide how housing is built? Do we even know what is happening here in Canada?”

    The lecture is being held in the Robertson Theatre at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    Steve Solski, Executive Director, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, said hosting the event in conjunction with the MIWSFPA is another example of the close community partnership between the two establishments.

    “The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and our neighbours at the Marilyn I. Walker School have together truly become the cultural hub for our city and region,” said Solski. “The synergy between bringing together the very best artists from across our country and world paired with nurturing and developing local artists and young creative minds, is key to our thriving arts community.”

    Tickets to the lecture are free, but registration is required by visiting the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website.  The exhibition runs until Nov. 7.

    Presidential Guide to Selfies
    Exhibition opening: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 5 p.m., VISA Art Gallery and Student Exhibition Space, MIWSFPA
    Exhibition runs: Oct. 4 to Nov. 7

    Visualizing space and some ideas of homeownership 2006-2018
    Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m., Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

    The Walker Cultural Leader series brings leading artists, performers, practitioners and academics to the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University. Engaging, lively and erudite, these sessions celebrate professional achievement, artistic endeavour and the indelible role of culture in our society. Please join us. This education program is generously founded by Marilyn I. Walker.

    Tags: , , , ,
    Categories: Events, Exhibitions

  • Michael Snow’s work featured at MIWSFPA

    Friday, September 28, 2018 | By

    Lesley Bell stands in front of Michael Snow's piece "Timed Images"

    Lesley Bell (BA ’88), former Learning Commons Co-ordinator at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), has been researching the history of Michael Snow’s Timed Images, Frame Three piece that has recently found a new home at the School.

    (From The Brock News, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)

    Just in time for Culture Days this weekend, the work of internationally regarded artist Michael Snow has found a new home at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    Previously installed in the C-Block of Brock’s Mackenzie Chown Complex, Snow’s Timed Images, Frame Three, can now be viewed on the second floor of the Walker School.

    “Having the work of such a culturally significant artist on display in our building promotes interaction and connection between our two Brock campuses and with the community,” said MIWSFPA Director Elizabeth Vlossak. “The piece inspires us to remember our history, both as a university and a city, as we look ahead to the future.”

    Framed within a mirror, the photograph features a staged image of then-President James A. Gibson, Professor Ian Shaw, Brock student Anna Bernardo, Professor Peter Peach (seen as a mirror reflection) and Students’ Union Vice-President Fred Ford. They are photographed walking in front of a mirror frame that still hangs on the wall in D-Block today.

    Frame Three is part of a larger installation that Snow created for Brock University during the construction of the Mackenzie Chown Complex in 1972. Working with architect Raymond Moriyama, Snow created a number of multimedia pieces that interacted with one another in various locations around the building.

    When the installation was active, a video camera placed across the hallway captured footage of anyone walking by Frame Three, and then transmitted that footage to a live-feed video monitor further down the hallway.

    Lesley Bell (BA ’88), former Learning Commons Co-ordinator at the MIWSFPA, has been conducting extensive research on the installation. She said the work was ahead of its time, with technological elements that undoubtedly sparked the interest of students on campus at that time.

    “I wonder if Snow knew how much fun it would be for students — I imagine it would have been a gas,” she said of the installation. “People tell me that students would look at themselves in one frame and then run down the hall to see themselves in another one, making whoever is going by a part of the installation.”

    Bell is also working with a videographer to complete a documentary about the work, its rich history at Brock and its commentary on the sweeping changes many universities were undergoing at that time.

    Scott Henderson, Associate Professor in Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has also done his own research on the installation, even taking his students on popular “Snow Walks” to introduce them to Snow’s work and foster discussion on the ideas explored within his pieces.

    “In this photo, there is a beautiful layering of people, and that’s reflective of the way that knowledge constantly builds and of its fluidity,” he said of Frame Three. “I imagine the work to relate to the notion of a student arriving with their preconceptions of who they are, who they will encounter and how that constantly changes. Their time is fleeting, but they have become part of the broader history, and whatever they said or did adds to the knowledge base of the University in the future.”

    Although the installation no longer functions as it once did, Henderson argues that it remains as relevant today as when it was first installed.

    “We could be disappointed by the decay of Timed Images, except that it is a piece about time and its impact on us,” explained Henderson. “The natural transformation of change is that the piece itself has decayed, which works exactly with what the piece wanted to say. It invites that discussion about our history and having it on display at the MIWSFPA allows it to still function the way it was meant to function, to remind us that time is constantly moving.”

    Snow is an internationally-regarded filmmaker, sculptor, visual artist and musician who has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Order of Canada and a Doctor of Laws degree from Brock University in 1974.

    His work has been presented at museums and galleries around the world and is perhaps best known locally for Flight Stop at the Toronto Eaton Centre (1979) and The Audience (1988-89) at the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre).

    Timed Images, Frame Three is currently installed in the MIWSFPA, with viewings taking place Friday, Sept. 28 to Sunday, Sept. 30 from 1 to 5 p.m., as part of Culture Days, and any time during normal school operating hours.

    Tags: , , , ,
    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • Beloved Visual Arts staffer inspires Art History award

    Friday, September 07, 2018 | By

    Lesley Bell with certificate

    Lesley Bell, right, sits with Visual Arts Chair Donna Szőke, one final time in the Learning Commons at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts before Bell’s retirement. The department marked her retirement with the creation of the Lesley Bell Award, to be presented to the Art History student entering third year with the highest average.

    (From The Brock News, Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)
    When you walk into the Learning Commons at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), you are greeted by the always-smiling face of Lesley Bell.

    The long-time Co-ordinator enthusiastically helps students, staff and faculty alike on their quests for knowledge, is always eager to explain how a piece of software works and has no shortage of stories to share about art, the University or life in general.

    It is her passion for the work that she does, and for the people she works with, that inspired the Visual Arts Department to pay tribute to Bell’s legacy with a student award named in her honour.

    Created in recognition of her retirement at the end of August, the new Lesley Bell Award will be presented annually to the third-year History of Art and Visual Culture major with the highest average.

    Donna Szőke, Chair of the Visual Arts Department, said the award is a fitting way to recognize student accomplishment as well as Bell’s time with Brock, both academically and professionally.

    “Lesley has been an invaluable resource to our department,” she said.  “Her constant generosity of spirit, curiosity and kindness has touched the lives of the many students, instructors and staff of Visual Arts, as well as Brock as a whole. We celebrate Lesley with this award.”

    Bell, who has been employed with Brock for 34 years, is the longest-serving staff member in the Visual Arts Department.

    She remembers her journey through the ranks at Brock fondly, starting from her decision to enrol as a student in 1983.

    While working part time as a waitress, Bell would always share her love of the arts with her coworkers. As a mature student in her 30s, however, she was skeptical about going back to school.

    After some prodding from coworkers — and realizing there was a night class at Brock that she could attend which wouldn’t interfere with her work schedule — she decided to enrol.

    “I started an art history class with Sylvia Osterbind, a fine arts librarian who also taught the Art History course for a fledgling program in History and Studio Arts at Brock,” Bell recalled. “Sylvia was a formidable teacher. I sat at the back of the class and watched her stride in front of two projected images of ancient art in her sensible shoes, waving her pointer and lecturing with her succinct German accent.”

    From that point on, Bell was “hooked.” She would close down the bar, working until the wee hours of the morning, and then wake up for early morning seminars.

    “I suddenly noticed ‘classical’ architectural elements on the buildings on St. Paul Street when riding the bus home from Brock, and I met some people who are still important friends,” she recalls fondly. “I started Brock thinking I was not smart enough for university, but that course showed me that I had a mind that could ask questions, and I had eyes that could see the creative world around me.”

    After graduating with an Honours B.A. in Visual Arts from Brock University in 1988, Bell then continued her studies and earned a Master of Library Science degree from Western University in 1993.

    From there, she returned to the place where it all started and began working at Brock as a Visual Arts resource co-ordinator.

    Over time, her job would evolve to include oversight of the Brock University Art Collection and the former Sean O’Sullivan Art Gallery on the main campus.

    Bell would eventually conceive and help design the Learning Commons in the new MIWSFPA building in downtown St. Catharines, where her duties expanded to include managing the equipment kiosk and supervising student monitors. She constantly worked to develop opportunities for the space to further benefit students and the community, and never stopped striving to make it a more inclusive place to study and congregate.

    Bell is not one to boast about her accomplishments or bask in the spotlight, however. Especially, she says, when she was simply “doing her job.”

    But when it comes to the student award in her honour, she is proud that her legacy will serve to inspire future students to also pursue their passions.

    “I don’t know if I can say this emphatically enough: this award means more to me than the decades of service to Brock and is a legacy that actually stuns me,” she said. “We are all here because of the students that we train, nurture and mentor.  However, we seldom get a chance to know that we ‘make a difference.’ So, it is deeply significant to me to be given this gift from the department.”

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

  • New Visa staff member Max Holten-Andersen joins us

    Thursday, August 30, 2018 | By

    Welcome aboard Max Holten-Andersen!

    We welcome Max Holten-Andersen who becomes our new Media Resource Coordinator of Brock Visual Arts Department. Max brings a wide range of talents to serve the needs of our students and faculty. He is a guitarist, composer, sound designer, sound design instructor, and is graduate of the Brock (BMus) and University of Ottawa (MA) music programs. Max is extremely active in the Niagara music and theatre scene! Go Max!!

    Originally hailing from Argentina Max brings with him a love of Latin Music, an excellent guitar solo, as well as a keen eye and ear when trouble-shooting audio-visual software and hardware. While his base of operations will be in the MWS Learning Commons (why not visit him in his MW229B office to welcome him?) Max’s busy schedule will see him bouncing between supporting our efforts in the Commons, the Visa Equipment Kiosk and the Digital Media Lab.

    Please join us in welcoming our new colleague as we embark on a new journey together.

  • Three to Eight exhibition to support student scholarships

    Tuesday, August 28, 2018 | By

    Professor Murray Kropf is exhibiting his most recent collection of paintings in Three to Eight, an exhibition opening Tuesday, Sept. 4 in the VISA Gallery at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. The paintings are being sold to support student scholarships. (Photo by Lorraine Zandvliet)

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday, August 28, 2018 | by Sarah Moore)

    When Brock Associate Professor Murray Kropf puts brush to canvas, his inspiration tends to stem from an academic problem he is currently working through.

    In Three to Eight, his new exhibition opening Tuesday, Sept. 4, Kropf challenged himself to create movement in a piece by using only tone, hue and intensity and painting on square canvases with a very limited colour palette.

    “I was trying to find a better way to teach students about colour theory,” he said of the work that he began last year in early fall. “I was looking for a way to create a harmonious and structured composition that is asymmetrical, but still balanced, using only a palette of between three to eight colours.”

    The result was a series of paintings — the first purely abstract of his career — that Kropf will be selling to fund visual arts scholarships for students in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    While he is mainly a location and still-life painter, Kropf said he welcomed the change of pace for this work.

    “It went better than I thought it could,” he said of his first stab at abstractionism. “It’s always a problem for painters approaching a canvas, because it’s blank, but everything that came out of this was a surprise and that was lovely. It was a refreshing thing to do.”

    He also said the process will “further inform his teaching” in the future, making him more “appreciative” of what can be accomplished with a limited range of colours.

    Assistant Professor Amy Friend, Chair of the VISA Gallery Committee, said this is the first time a professor has hosted a solo show as a fundraising initiative since she has been involved with the gallery operations.

    “To showcase the work that Murray, one of our senior professors, accomplishes behind-the-scenes in his studio, is really important,” she said. “It also shows the way that art can support community, the generosity of our relationship with our students and the ongoing need to fund student studies.”

    Kropf, who has been teaching at Brock for more than 30 years, said simply that it was “time” to give back to the students and the institution he has been connected to for so long.

    “I want to show my gratitude to my students, to my colleagues, and to the university because I have been very lucky to work here, and I’ve enjoyed it a great deal,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to contribute to awards for students because I’ve been a student and I know how badly support is needed.”

    Three to Eight will be displayed in the VISA Gallery, located on the first floor of the MIWSFPA, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4, with an opening reception taking place Friday, Sept. 7. The reception will run from 4 to 7 p.m., also in the gallery, and is free and open to the community. The VISA gallery is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.

    All proceeds from the sales of Kropf’s pieces will be donated to scholarships for students in Visual Arts immediately after the exhibition.

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Exhibitions, Faculty & Instructors, News

  • First-year VISA orientation activities planned for September 4 and 7

    Tuesday, August 28, 2018 | By

    lobby filled with students sitting at desk and benches

    As a new student enrolled in the Department of Visual Arts, you are invited to The New Student Welcome and Academic Orientation as your official welcome to Brock University on September 4! The orientation begins at 8 a.m. in the Ian Beddis Gym, where you’ll hear from President Gervan Fearon and enjoy an inspirational keynote to begin your day and kick-start your term. Afterwards, you are welcome to connect with your faculty and upper year student mentors to receive important information about academic supports and resources. Then, go check out the vendor and welcome fair, take a campus tour and to locate your classes, and get an orientation to the Brock Library. *Don’t forget to register for this orientation at Experience BU.

    You are invited to then also attend the Faculty of Humanities orientation session, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre on Brock’s main campus.

    FIRST-YEAR MIWSFPA MIXER AND LUNCH
    OPEN TO STUDENTS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS AT THE MIWSFPA

    SEPTEMBER 4

    12 TO 1:30 P.M.

    MIWSFPA LOBBY

    DOWNTOWN ST. CATHARINES

    15 ARTISTS’ COMMON

    There will also be a special orientation planned for VISA students specifically, taking place later that week:

    VISUAL ARTS orientation

    Sept. 7:  3 to 4 p.m.
    Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Lobby
    15 Artists’ Common
    *This will be followed by an opening of Murray Kropf’s new exhibit, Three to Eight, at 4 p.m. in the VISA Gallery

     

    Tags: , , , ,
    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, News

  • Visa staff member Lesley Bell retires

    Monday, August 27, 2018 | By

    Lesley Bell, the Visual Arts Department Image Resources Librarian and our longest serving staff member is retiring at the end of this week after 34 years of exemplary service.

    Lesley began her relationship with Brock thirty-four years ago when she enrolled as a Major in the new Visual Arts Programme (which then operated out of a single studio). From the start Lesley was very motivated and exceptionally talented in both Art History and Studio Arts. Lesley always displayed a special fondness for detail in all her work as demonstrated in her exquisite drawings.

    Her interest in Art History eventually lead to a Masters Degree in Library Science (UWO) and she returned to us in a time of need when the Librarian and Art Historian Sylvia Osterbind retired and other faculty were hired. Lesley assumed the position of Visual Arts Resource Coordinator at a critical time when images needed to be made regularly for classes by way of finding the image in a book and photographing it, then manually putting it in a slide sleeve, documenting the image and filing it. It was a very demanding job at which she excelled. Lesley also taught studio classes in drawing and assisted students with preparing their Art History presentations and papers. Over the years her job evolved to include oversight of the Brock University Art Collection and the Shawn O’Sullivan Art Gallery on the main campus. Lesley conceived and helped design the Library Commons in the new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts where her duties expanded to include managing the equipment kiosk and supervising student monitors. At every turn Lesley was equal to the tasks assigned and she remained an integral part of the department’s success.

    Lesley will be sorely missed! Thanks Lesley for all your work and dedication to the department over the years!

    Categories: News

  • Exploring family history through art

    Friday, July 20, 2018 | By

    2 artists looking at artwork outside on a walkway

    Chidera Onyegbule and Osaze Usuanlele make cyanotypes, an early type of archival photography, using images from their families’ histories. Fifteen youth aged 14 to 18 have been participating in the week-long workshop, which is a partnership between Rodman Hall Art Centre, the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, and the City of St. Catharines.

    (From The Brock News, Wednesday, June 20, 2018 | by Alison Innes)

    Old family photos were given new life during a special Brock workshop held last week.

    Fifteen young artists from St. Catharines spent the week working with Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend to explore their family history and create new works of art.

    During the workshop organized by Rodman Hall Art Centre, participants used camera-less photography techniques on their familial documents as they conceptualized, planned and executed their artwork.

    “The program takes key ideas from Rodman Hall’s summer exhibition Carry Forward, such as how social and political biases get carried forward into how history is recorded, into the everyday lives of youth living in Niagara,” says Elizabeth Chitty, Rodman Hall Programming Officer.

    Chitty worked with community organizations and teachers to invite young artists from culturally diverse backgrounds to participate.

    Students spent several days at Rodman Hall exploring the ideas presented in Carry Forward, such as the complex history of documentation and power relations, engaging with colonialism, propaganda and authenticity.

    Participants were asked to consider how Rodman Hall itself is an archive, Friend says.

    “Students were encouraged to think about what an archive is, what it means to look at documents related to their own lives and how to use the archive as an art form to explore histories not well known.”

    Fifteen young artists from St. Catharines outside Rodman Hall

    Fifteen young artists from St. Catharines spent the week working with Visual Arts Professor Amy Friend to explore their family history and create new works of art.

    Working in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts darkroom as well as outside, the young artists used cyanotypes, silver gelatin prints and mixed media to engage with their own histories.

    Ness Griffin never met her grandparents or her extended family. Her family’s connection with their Haudenosaunee culture was cut in the Sixties Scoop.

    Working with reproductions of family photos that she made during the workshop, Griffin scratches out faces to represent her loss of connections with extended family.

    “It was a hard decision to make to cut up the photograph because it is deeply personal,” she said.

    Chimera Onyegbule also worked with photos of family she never met. Her great grandfather was born to a British father and Nigerian mother in the colonial era in Nigeria.

    “I call this piece The White Flag,” she says. “He’s like the white flag in a war between two sides.”

    The Grade 11 student at Holy Cross Catholic High School recently visited an aunt in London, England, where she learned more about her great grandfather.

    “I’ve always wanted to know more about my family history,” she says. “It’s important to keep stuff like this alive.”

    The pieces created through the special program will be featured during a public exhibition that will run until Sept. 2 in The Film House lobby of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

    The public is invited to attend the exhibition’s opening on Tuesday, July 17 from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m.

    Carry Forward is on at Rodman Hall Art Centre until Sept. 2.

    Tags: , , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Faculty & Instructors, News

1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 25