Image caption: Fourth-year Visual Arts student Cleah Fast, recipient of a 2024 Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary, is displaying her artwork in a new multimedia exhibition now open at Brock’s Visual Arts Gallery.
Wednesday, November 06, 2024 | by Gillian Minaker
While backstage at an iconic music festival and in the front row at New York Fashion Week, Cleah Fast couldn’t help but feel a spark — or rather, flash — of creativity.
The fourth-year Brock Visual Arts (VISA) student and multidisciplinary artist has channelled her recent experiences at high-profile New York City events into an exhibit, Through the Lens, now on show at the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).
The exhibition features Fast’s large-scale photography, painting, sound installations and mixed media alongside video art created by Brock faculty, students and staff.
Fast’s creative path was propelled forward when she received a 2024 Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary, an award that assists students with a unique opportunity, including travel, training or masterclasses to support their final-year capstone project.
Through the support of the bursary, Fast travelled to NYC and collaborated with media company Never Come Home to photograph the Governor’s Ball Music Festival, the biggest music festival on the east coast.
“I was drawn in by the energy and bonds that take place during cultural events, where so many individual experiences take place and intertwine to create a bigger, collective experience,” she said.
Fast was inspired to explore these connections from the perspective of youth culture.
“Shooting the festival for four days with professionals was unlike anything I had ever done; I had never shot anything on that scale,” she said.
The partnership was so successful, and the media company so impressed with her skills, Never Come Home invited Fast back to shoot New York Fashion Week with them this past September.
“Without the bursary, this collaboration would not have been able to happen and flourish the way that it has,” she said.
Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, said the Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is a tremendous benefit to students who want to gain professional training and experience outside of the institution.
“In this case, Cleah was able to access a rare opportunity that enabled specialized skills development and career potential,” Carreiro said.
During her time in Visual Arts, Fast said she had the opportunity to go beyond her comfort zone and try new things.
“Access to diverse, creative opportunities were a big reason I chose the Visual Arts program. I love the Marilyn, and I wouldn’t be doing these incredible things without the support and encouragement from my professors,” she said.
The opening reception for Through the Lens will be held Thursday, Nov. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Visual Arts Gallery. The exhibition runs until Nov. 23.