Articles tagged with: marilyn i. walker school of fine and performing arts

  • Visual Arts Department creates perfect pairing with local winery, gallery

    Thursday, March 31, 2022 | By

    Image caption: A new partnership between Brock University and 13th Street Gallery (pictured above) will see Brock Visual Arts students showcasing their work in an upcoming exhibition beginning Saturday, April 2.

    Originally published in The Brock News |  TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022 | by 

    A new partnership between Brock’s Department of Visual Arts and 13th Street Winery and Gallery is creating new scholarship and exhibition opportunities for students.

    The pairing’s first collaborative event is set to kick off this weekend, with a selection of work from Visual Arts (VISA) students graduating this spring on show at the 13th Street Gallery, 1776 Fourth Ave. in St. Catharines. The exhibition will run from April 2 to 30, with an artists’ reception taking place Saturday, April 16 between 2 and 5 p.m. that will allow the public to meet the artists and view their work.

    Additionally, 13th Street Winery and Gallery has announced it will provide an annual scholarship to a Visual Arts student to further their artistic practice. The first 13th Street Gallery and Winery Scholarship award winner will be announced at the April 16 reception.

    The gallery specializes in Canadian historical and contemporary fine art. Experiencing compelling art in a gallery setting has always been part of the vision for the premier local winery, which produces premium VQA wines.

    As galleries across the province open their doors after closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibiting work in a professional setting presents an exciting opportunity for students to broaden their audiences and gain hands-on exposure to the arts industry.

    Amy Friend, Chair and Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, said she’s pleased to begin this collaboration with 13th Street Gallery.

    “Having the work students are doing here at the Marilyn out in the community is wonderful,” she said.

    “We are thrilled to have this growing partnership with Brock University and glad to be able to provide the space for the students,” said John Mann, owner and director of 13th Street Gallery.

    In May, VISA faculty members and alumni have been invited to exhibit their work at the gallery.

    The 13th Street Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. For more gallery information and upcoming exhibition details, please visit the 13th Street Gallery website.

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    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Exhibitions, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

  • New Visual Arts course examines the anatomical body in historical texts

    Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | By

    Image caption: VISA 3V91 Inside Out – Revealing the Anatomical Body will examine images of the anatomical body in historical medical texts, such as this wooden female anatomical figure (Europe, 1601-1700) from the Science Museum, London, care of Wellcome Collection under a Creative Commons license.

    Originally published in The Brock News | TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022 | by 

    A new course open to all Brock University students will critically examine anatomical illustrations throughout history and unpack what these visual representations reveal culturally, socially and artistically.

    Offered in the upcoming Spring/Summer Term, VISA 3V91 — Inside Out — Revealing the Anatomical Body is a new course developed and taught by Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts and Professor of Visual Arts.

    Based out of Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), VISA 3V91 is offered as a half course and is open to students across campus. No previous art history knowledge or artistic skills are required to enrol.

    Students will critically examine ‘flap anatomy’ found in historical medical and popular texts dating back to the 1500s, whereby images of layers of the body are peeled open to reveal muscle, organs and skeletal structures. Carreiro is interested in how this convention started, how it evolved and what the implications are from a socio-political perspective.

    The evolution of models and images in historical medical texts is a research specialization for Carreiro, and she is thrilled to bring her learnings and insights to Brock students.

    “Some of the images and models are absolutely stunning from an artistic perspective,” she says, “but these devices convey so much more than how the anatomical structures fit together.”

    Carreiro says it is important to examine who ended up on the dissection table in order to create these images, and what these images might reveal about that particular context.

    “Looking at images of public dissection theatres and profiles of anatomists can provide some of these insights,” she says.

    Students can expect to engage in critical readings, discussions and writing, with the opportunity to engage in studio work. Students must have a minimum of 5.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 per cent overall average or permission of the instructor to register for the course.

    Registration for Spring/Summer courses is now open through the Admissions website.

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  • Visual Arts prof creates public art reflecting themes of COVID-19 pandemic

    Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | By

    Image caption: The Breathing Tree by Donna Szoke, made from stainless steel, LED lighting and electronics, was installed in the lobby of OpenText Corporation’s offices in Waterloo.  Photo by Tony Hafkenscheid.

    One of Canada’s biggest software companies recently selected a Brock University professor and artist to create a public art piece reflecting on themes of ‘loss’ during the pandemic.

    Donna Szoke, Associate Professor of Studio Art at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) was chosen by OpenText Corporation to create new artwork dedicated to their employees impacted by the pandemic and pay tribute to the lives lost to COVID-19.

    The Waterloo-based company wanted to commission and support a Canadian artist, and put out a national call for the project in 2021. Szoke was immediately drawn to the unconventional call for public art creation within a corporate context.

    Through a creative and personal exploration of themes related to the pandemic and their impact on mental health, Szoke created her proposal and drawings for The Breathing Tree. Inspired by the concept of ‘box breathing,’ used to calm anxiety, and Szoke’s desire to be in nature, the idea for a back-lit sculpture in the form of a tree came to life.

    The tree sculpture is made of stainless steel that was digitally cut and mounted to the wall in the OpenText lobby that employees pass by every day. The artwork, which appears as a tree and its reflection, invites viewers into a meditative moment while taking in the piece.

    With a resemblance to lungs, the sculpture also connects with the respiratory nature of COVID-19. Lit from the rear, the piece glows with soft purple and blue lights that dim and brighten in six-second intervals. The timed coloured lights subtly invite viewers to breathe along with the tree.

    “As a testament to the lives lost from COVID-19, it gives us an introspective moment with nature, grounding us in our own breathing and our own lived moment where life, loss, love, grief and resilience are inextricably bound,” Szoke said in her artist statement.

    Szoke worked with local fabricator Ramm Design to cut the steel for the sculpture, and with Hamilton-based electrical engineer and artist Jim Ruxton to create the timed electronics lighting the work in a very collaborative process. A holder of a technical diploma in Foundry, Szoke was familiar with the steel material, although the cutting techniques used were new to her.

    Szoke’s artworks become teaching tools for her Studio Art courses. In the Visual Arts course VISA 3Q91 — Research Seminar, Szoke models the process of creating public artwork from design inspiration through to fabrication, including the techniques and tools she employs in the process.

    The virtual opening for The Breathing Tree was held in December, with 10,000 OpenText employees in attendance. The permanent installation includes a plaque sharing details of the piece.

    Szoke has also recently received a Canada Games grant as well as an Ontario Arts Council grant for new work, both coming up in 2022-23.

     

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  • Visual Arts graduates featured in upcoming exhibition

    Wednesday, December 01, 2021 | By

    Image caption: Artwork featured in Beneath the Skin, an art exhibition opening Nov. 30 showcasing the work of studio-based artists and Rea Kelly and Angelina Turner.

    Originally published MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2021 | by 

    A new exhibition will see the return of two Brock University graduates showcasing their artwork and creative research in the space where they once studied.

    Beneath the Skin runs from Tuesday, Nov. 30 to Saturday, Dec. 18 featuring participating artists and Studio Art graduates Rea Kelly (BA ’21) and Angelina Turner (BA ’21). The opening reception will be held Thursday, Dec. 9 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Visual Arts Gallery and Student Exhibition Space at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

    The exhibition examines themes related to human anatomy and the psyche with the intention of encouraging audiences to delve deeper into their physical and emotional identities.

    “The theme of my work is rooted in challenging the viewer’s perception of how portraits, and even ‘selfies’ as an extension, are typically used to understand an outward appearance, status and social identity,” said Kelly. “Instead, my work focuses on the internal lived experience.”

    Turner said she took images of anatomy and intertwined them with other natural organisms to highlight the concept of interdependence in the world.

    “Many members of society, especially since the rise of smart technology, speak to feelings of loneliness and isolation,” she said. “But we aren’t alone, and I hope through my work I can show that to viewers.”

    The Visual Arts Gallery and Student Exhibition Space is located on the first floor of the MIWSFPA at 15 Artists’ Common in downtown St. Catharines. The gallery is open to the Brock community and wider public Tuesday to Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. (September through April).

    Brock students and staff are encouraged to RSVP through ExperienceBU to attend the exhibition and opening reception. All Brock University protocols apply including mandatory full COVID-19 vaccination and masks for all visitors. Community visitors are asked to enter the building through the main entrance for check-in at the Security desk.

    Questions can be directed to the Visual Arts Gallery at visagallery@brocku.ca

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

  • Brock Visual Arts Gallery showcasing work from students and faculty reopens

    Monday, October 25, 2021 | By

    Image caption: Visual Arts students view works of art from faculty exhibition Apart We Were Together, the first in-person art show to be held in the Visual Arts Gallery since it closed due to the pandemic.

    Originally published in The Brock News on | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021 | by 

    After a year and half, the Visual Arts Gallery and Student Exhibition Space at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) has recently reopened its doors to the Brock University community and wider public to view in-person exhibitions.

    The latest show running in the gallery is a student exhibition featuring the work of Visual Arts students Sarah Formosa and Rabia Choudhary. Intricate Connections (Sarah Formosa); Unruly Growth (Rabia Choudary) opened Thursday, Oct. 21 and runs until Nov. 19.

    Choudhary called it “thrilling” to be sharing her work publicly.

    “These pieces were created during the pandemic and explore my struggles with identity, and coming to terms with who I am,” she said. “It is such a privilege to share my work with the Brock community.”

    Formosa agrees that sharing her work in a public show is an exciting opportunity.

    “I have officially heard my first gasp from a child, entering a space that holds something that I’ve created,” she said. “I hope visitors enjoy these works and that there might be an opportunity to leave the gallery having gained another perspective on life.”

    The first exhibition to be mounted in the space was a Visual Arts faculty exhibition opened in September entitled Apart We Were Together. Exhibiting artists were Associate Professor and Visual Arts Department Chair Amy Friend, Associate Professor Derek Knight, Assistant Professor Troy David Ouellette and Associate Professor Donna Szoke.

    The concept of the show was loosely borrowed from celebrated author and philosopher Jacques Rancière’s book The Emancipated Spectator, which explores the idea of ‘apart we were together’ investigating outcomes when an artist is separated from their work and the viewer.

    The exhibition included photography, video projections and multimedia installations made of fibre-optic cable. Exhibiting artists drew on pandemic-related themes for their works such as separation, the loss of connection, solidarity and nostalgia.

    As stated in the Exhibition Introduction, the artists acknowledged that even with the closure of galleries, theatres and other areas of cultural production during the pandemic, there was always the possibility of “wonderment and dialogue” within the arts.

    The ‘apart we were together’ theme underscored the importance of solidarity, especially during challenging times. Though the in-person exhibition has closed,  a virtual exhibition can be viewed online.

    The Visual Arts Gallery and Student Exhibition Space is located on the first floor of the MIWSFPA at 15 Artists Common in downtown St. Catharines. The gallery is open to the Brock community and wider public Tuesday to Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. September through April.

    Brock students and staff are encouraged to RSVP through ExperienceBU to attend the exhibition. All Brock University protocols apply including mandatory full COVID-19 vaccination and masks for all visitors. The visiting public is asked to enter the building through the main entrance for check-in at the Security Desk.

    Questions can be directed to the Visual Arts Gallery at visagallery@brocku.ca

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  • Visual Arts podcast launches new season challenging ideas of western art

    Monday, October 04, 2021 | By

    Image caption: Co-hosts of Unboxing the Canon podcast, Associate Professor Linda Steer, left, and fourth-year Brock student Madeline Collins.

    Originally published FRIDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2021 in The Brock News | by 

    Unboxing the Canon has made its return with the goal of doing a deep, critical dive into the history of western art.

    The second season of the popular podcast from Linda Steer, Brock Associate Professor, History of Art and Visual Culture, is now live with new 20-minute episodes dropping monthly.

    Unboxing the Canon look at issues that are part of the history of western art, examining how those issues played out historically and how they connect to contemporary culture and thinking.

    The first episode dropped Sept. 17 and explores Orientalism and the Western Gaze. Upcoming episodes will address topics such as the representation of disability in western art, an art movement known as Primitivism connected to colonization, and the history of self-portraits, religion and landscape in paintings.

    According to Steer, who teaches first-year Art History, asking hard questions about these topics is important to developing a deeper understanding of the canon.

    “Students are hungry for a critical view of the western canon; they want to deal with the issues and unpack them and understand why they may be problematic,” Steer said. “When examining the long history of western art and its ties to imperialism, for example, we can ask important questions about iconic images that continue to have a tremendous impact on contemporary society.

    Steer says listeners don’t need any prior knowledge of western art to enjoy the podcast. She started the project last year as a way for students in her first-year VISA 1Q99: Introduction to the History of Western Art class to take a break from their screens and do a little extra learning while taking a walk or relaxing at home.

    Now, other instructors at the University and beyond are also using the podcast as a teaching tool. Each episode includes materials for further learning, including resources and websites where listeners can view the works of art being discussed.

    This continued engagement is an aspect of the project that Steer and fourth-year History of Art and Visual Culture student Madeline Collins are passionate about.

    Collins, who joined the podcast this season as a Research Assistant, said that images are not neutral and that there is a lot happening that viewers are not always aware of.

    “There is so much behind what we see. We need to look critically and realize how biased, gendered, racialized and colonized images are at the forefront of our cultural memory,” she said. “It has been a part of the story the whole time, and once you see it, it totally changes your perspective moving forward. That is my favourite part about this podcast.”

    In addition to co-hosting the podcast episodes, Collins is involved in all aspects of production, including conducting research, sound design and working closely with Steer on writing.

    The pair have been working together since July so Collins could learn the sound design and editing software gearing up for the season.

    Excited to be involved in the project, Collins, an avid fan of podcasts herself, said she has already learned so much from the experience.

    “I’ve always been interested in podcasts and the incredible ways in which we can communicate ideas through them, especially for those who learn better through listening,” Collins said. “I have never been a part of anything like this before, particularly learning all about microphones and sound editing, and I am loving the experience.”

    Unboxing the Canon is publicly available on all podcast services, including Apple, Google, Podbean and Spotify. For updates and information on future episodes, follow Unboxing the Canon on Instagram and Twitter.

    The transcripts and sound files from each episode of Unboxing the Canon can be found in Brock’s digital repository.Visual Arts podcast launches new season challenging ideas of western art

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  • Visual Arts Prof Donna Szoke’s artwork featured on cover of new publication

    Thursday, September 16, 2021 | By

    The artwork of Donna Szoke, Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, is featured on the cover of a new publication from PUBLIC, an interdisciplinary journal from York University focusing on visual art.

    Entitled Exhibiting Digital Animalities, the publication is edited by Mathew Brower and includes sections from 12 artists, including a chapter on Szoke’s research-creation work drawing on her recent interview with Vanessa Bateman.

    The publication is now available for order online. To learn more about Donna Szoke and her work, please visit her website.

    About Exhibiting Digital Animalities:

    “How has digital technology reshaped our experiences and understandings of animals? Documenting two major international art exhibitions, Exhibiting Digital Animalities demonstrates the significance of contemporary art as a site for rethinking and restating human-animal relations. The twelve curated projects seek to broaden the range of artistic approaches to animals facilitated by digital technologies.

    Furthering the exploration started by the exhibitions, Exhibiting Digital Animalities brings together scholars from a range of disciplines to interview the artists and artist collectives. These probing conversations explore digital technology’s reconfiguration of human-animal relations, making work in response to the Anthropocene, the ethics of animal art, and the affordances of digital technology for art practice.”  (Source from http://www.publicjournal.ca/exhibiting-digital-animalities/)

     

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

    Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | By

    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 

    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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    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, In the Media, News, Uncategorised

  • Visual Arts prof and photographer exhibits new work on international stage

    Thursday, August 12, 2021 | By

    Sea, Salt, Moon, Air by Amy Friend, Associate Professor and department Chair of Visual Arts, is part of a new photography exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland.

    Originally published in The Brock News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021 | by 

    An exhibit showcasing the work of artist and Brock University Associate Professor and Chair of Visual Arts Amy Friend has gained international attention.

    Friend was one of eight artists from around the world invited to exhibit their photography at a summer show entitled Ocean at Bildhalle gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. Bildhalle, founded in 2013 by Mirjam Cavegn, is a highly respected art gallery presenting world class photography.

    The exhibition, which explores the motif of water through different aesthetics, was recently featured in the International Edition of The Guardian in their Art and Design section. The article displayed a selection of images from the exhibition and provided details on each artist and their work.

    Becoming 0.4% by Amy Friend from the international exhibition Ocean.

    In her artistic practice, the theme of water and ever-shifting seascapes is of great interest to Friend and is woven through much of her creative work. Due to the travel restrictions of the global pandemic, Friend found herself reflecting on past times at  the seaside during which she collected samples of water from across the world.

    Friend’s photographs featured in the Ocean exhibition came to fruition when she revisited 20 years worth of her photographs involving water and seascapes. Drawing on the notion that photography acts a as vault containing moments from the past, she fused her ideas together.

    “Looking at the abundant images of water in my personal collection, I began to consider my connection to these places and what it meant to take so many images like this,” said Friend. “I questioned what was possible to accomplish with this collection, given my stationary position due to COVID.”

    After selecting a series of the photographs, Friend printed them and then soaked them in the salt water she had collected during previous travels.

    “Over time, the sea water evaporated, leaving a residue of salt on the print,” Friend said.

    She said her pieces Tiny Tears Fill the Ocean (2020) and Endothelium Waves (2020) examine the connection between the body and the ocean.

    “The interplay between the salt content of water and the salt content of our bodies, including our tears, is of particular interest,” she said. “Our bodily connection to place is something that continues to resurface in my practice.”

    Through the exploration of themes of tears and loss, there is an environmental aspect to the work. Although the photographs are not specifically about the effects of climate change, Friend said “it is important to reflect on loss from an environmental standpoint when viewing these works.”

    With the exhibition running into the fall, Friend is looking forward to sharing the details of her experience with her students.

    “It is important that they see others actively engaging within a creative community. By sharing my experience with them, I hope to provide a bit of real-world insight related to the planning and trouble-shooting involved when preparing for exhibitions,” she said.

    To view the exhibition Ocean, visit the Bildhalle website.

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  • Students showcase video art in local film festival through work-integrated learning

    Monday, July 05, 2021 | By

    Image caption: The opening image of Wind Sky, directed by Xudanlei Liu. Liu’s original video art is part of the Advanced Video Art student online screenings at the upcoming Mighty Niagara Film Fest presented by the Niagara Artists Centre.

    Originally published in The Brock News | MONDAY, JULY 05, 2021 

    Brock students have captured their experiences during the pandemic on film and are sharing their insights with the community.

    Exploring themes of identity, isolation and using everyday objects to create art, the project was born from an innovative work-integrated learning course and will see students present their videos during a professional film festival online.

    In Advanced Video (VISA/ISAC/STAC 3P10), students build upon their creative, technical and critical skills for video art production, post-production and critical evaluation, and are introduced to a variety of forms and approaches to video art, emphasizing its creation and contextualization in contemporary art discourses.

    Led by Donna Szoke, Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), the project is funded in part by Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada’s Innovation Hub (iHub), through the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning (IWIL) initiative, and supported by Niagara Artists Centre (NAC).

    Students created independent video art that is available online until Aug. 15 in affiliation with the NAC in downtown St. Catharines. The videos will also be presented as part of NAC’s Mighty Niagara Film Festival running Aug. 18 to 22. Both events are free to the public.

    This rich educational experience has allowed students to produce quality work in a professional setting while exploring their creativity.

    Thanks to the CEWIL grant awarded to Szoke for the course, students will be paid for their work being showcased in the festival. The project has also helped students to add valuable work to their portfolios and build their resumés for future opportunities.

    Minhal Enam, a third-year Interactive Arts and Science student in the Faculty of Humanities, is among those showcasing their video art.

    Enam said the past year has been difficult because of the pandemic and that participating in the film festival was a welcome and pleasant surprise.

    “When I was creating this project, I didn’t think my work would ever be screened at a film festival,” he said. “This shows me that you never know what lies next in terms of opportunities and open doors.

    “As an international student, I am lucky to be involved in a project like this,” Enam said. “Being born and raised in Saudi Arabia, I never thought I would express my thoughts and passion as I am doing now. I am trusting my own journey, and this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to create more.”

    The CEWIL funding also allowed for established artists to virtually visit students throughout Winter Term, delivering presentations focused on their practices as Canadian video artists exhibiting in international film festivals. After receiving advice during the mentorship sessions, students selected their best work from the term for the two public screenings.

    Szoke said it’s important that young artists feel their work, time and creative skills have value.

    “They need to know what they do matters,” she said. “This is a chance to craft their ability to make artwork and grow faith in themselves as artists.”

    Stephen Remus, the Minister of Energy, Minds and Resources at the NAC, has been involved with the artist-run centre in various capacities for the past 15 years.

    “NAC is always interested in what young and emerging artists are creating at the Marilyn I. Walker School,” he said. “There’s a give and take. We learn what their interests and preoccupations are and, in turn, we’re able to introduce them to the NAC and artist-run culture.”

    Remus said Canada can “lay a unique claim to the establishment of a national artist-run network.”

    “It’s unlike anything else in the world. And the NAC is one of the earliest nodes on that network, now more than 50 years old.”

    From Winnipeg to Vancouver to St. Catharines, Szoke has a long history of collaborating with artist-run centres across the country. As a passionate artist who engages with experimental education programs and uses media art as a form of activism, she believes video as a medium occupies a dynamic and vital space in visual arts with great impacts on community.

    Community engagement is at the centre of the Advanced Video course, with a focus on giving students an opportunity to showcase their creative work in a professional setting while earning an industry-standard wage. Educating students about the standards of professional wages in the creative sector is an important piece of the project.

    “Community is the bridge to the future,” Szoke said. “If students can have significant experiences making meaningful work that people in the community value, this real-world labour can change all of our lives and have a big impact on students’ futures.”

    Even though the structure of the NAC is “anarchistic in the best ways,” the centre can be a leader in community and audience engagement, and prioritize support of living artists,” Remus said. “This includes informing students about the professional rates for the payment of artists.”

    The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada or Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada.

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