by John Threlfall | Feb 23, 2018 | Art History & Visual Studies, Events, Graduate, School of Music, Undergraduate, Visual Arts, Writing
Whether you’re a regular part of the UVic community or simply a visitor to campus, Ideafest 2018 offers an ideal chance to explore the vast and diverse range of research and creative activity happening all around the Ring Road. Fine Arts is offering five distinct events this year, and participating in some others as well.
Rightfully described as being about “ideas that can change everything,” UVic’s week-long festival of research, art and innovation runs March 5-10 and features over 40 events on topics ranging from climate change and chamber music to Indigenous law, optimistic art, antibiotic resistance and so much more.
All events are free and open to the public — please join us at any or all of our signature Fine Arts events, and be sure to take time to explore the full schedule as well. You never know what your new favourite topic might be!
First up on the Fine Arts schedule is the annual reading night featuring Department of Writing MFA candidates. Hosted by award-winning playwright and Writing professor Kevin Kerr, All Lit Up: Creative Writing’s Bright Lights offers live readings and performances by the next generation of Canadian literati, including Levi Binnema (poetry), Sarah Hamill (nonfiction), Daniel Hogg (screenwriting), Elliott James (playwriting) and Kari Teicher (fiction).
Enjoy this lively (and licensed) literary cabaret from 7 to 8:30pm Monday, March 5, at the popular Copper Owl — one of downtown’s most unique and charming arts venues, (upstairs at Paul’s Motor Inn, 1900 Douglas). Doors open at 6:30, and this event always packs out so do arrive early. Note: no minors.
For over 50 years, UVic’s School of Music has had a long history of producing outstanding string students — helped along in no small measure by the Lafayette String Quartet, who have been artists-in-residence here since 1991. Now, you can discover the next generation of outstanding string talent with Cuarteto Chroma — Canada’s first graduate student string quartet. The event String Quartets at UVic: A Musical Continuum offers an interactive performance where Cuarteto Chroma will invite the audience to suggest how they should perform a particular piece — deciding things like tempo, vibrato and the balance between each instrument — which will allow the audience to hear the effects their choices have on the musical outcome.
Afterwards, Chroma will join the Lafayette String Quartet for an informal Q&A session, followed by a Lafayette-taught masterclass for UVic string students — that’s three opportunities to catch a glimpse of the intimate world of chamber music and explore the hidden facets of life in a string quartet. A Musical Continuum runs 11am-2:30pm Tuesday, March 6, in room B037 and the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, both in the School of Music’s MacLaurin Building B-Wing.
Performers will include the Lafayette String Quartet (Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, Ann Elliott-Goldschmid, Joanna Hood and Sharon Stanis) and Cuarteto Chroma (Felix Alanis, Manuel Cruz, Ilya Gotchev and Carlos Quijano), as well as undergraduate string students. Interactive performance runs 11am–12:15pm in the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, while the Q&A session runs 12:30–1:20pm in B037, and the chamber music masterclass runs 1:30-2:20pm back in the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, just next door to the classroom.
If Bobby McFerrin’s classic singalong ditty “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” isn’t quite cutting it for you these days, art may be the answer: in troubling times, optimism can feel like a scarce commodity, but for centuries people have found hope and joy in visual art. Art and Optimism in an Age of Worry offers a lively series of short presentations as Art History & Visual Studies faculty members and graduate students will explore how artists and their works have long offered new messages of hope, healing and empowerment. While showcasing a wide range of styles and movements, they will also collectively demonstrate how art can ignite optimism and agency in your own life.
Join host and AHVS professor Catherine Harding from 5-7pm on Tuesday, March 6, in room 116 of UVic’s Engineering & Computer Science building (ECS), where she’ll be joined by fellow AHVS professors Erin Campbell and Carolyn Butler Palmer, plus grad students Holly Cecil, Gonzalo Gutierrez, Alexa Heenan, Ambreen Hussaini, and Katayoun Youssefi.
If you think Fine Arts is just about paintbrushes, sheet music and words on the page, get ready to enter the digital realm and discover a whole new world of creativity when you go Beyond the Digital Frontier: Exploring Digital and Interactive Media in the Arts. From virtual-reality filmmaking and innovations in digital art to interactive gaming, artifact handling, new theatre technology and into the recording studio with Vancouver rockers Bend Sinister, find out how UVic’s Faculty of Fine Arts is a leader in 21st century creativity at this interactive, drop-in, self-guided exploration event.
Professors Kelly Richardson (Visual Arts), Kirk McNally (Music) and Victoria Wyatt (AHVS), plus technician Simon Farrow (Theatre) and both graduate and undergrad students will showcase recent innovations in the world of digital media from 5-6:30pm on Wednesday, March 7, throughout UVic’s Fine Arts Building.
And you’ve got the entire week of Ideafest to explore the Visual Arts exhibit Math Garden. Conceived of as an outdoor concept exhibition by Visual Arts instructor David Gifford, Math Garden explores some of the visual aspects concerned with popular mathematics. Topics such as amounts, shapes and change will be imagined by the undergraduate drawing class of ART 300, whose motive is to celebrate a handful of patterns that are present in this abstract discipline.
Math Garden is inspired by Mathematica, an exhibition of mathematical concepts by Charles and Ray Eames that debuted at the California Museum of Science and Industry in 1961. The self-guided exhibit in the Fine Arts Building courtyard will also include didactic panels for the purpose of intellectual entertainment, including the explanation of potentially difficult concepts through pictures and interactive sculptures and installations.
While those are our signature events, Fine Arts students will also be participating in the likes of the annual Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA) Fair from 11:30am-3pm on Wednesday, March 7, in UVic’s Student Union Building, as well as the new creative writing contest On the Verge: Student Voices, co-hosted by UVic’s Libraries and Equity & Human Rights, from 4:30-6pm on Thursday, March 8 in Libraries room 129. And will any of our short films about creative practice in Fine Arts make the final cut of the second annual Research Reels contest? To find out, you’ll have to drop by the screening event running from 5-6:30pm Tuesday, March 6, in the David Lam Auditorium, room A144 of the MacLaurin Building.
by John Threlfall | Feb 23, 2017 | Alumni, Art History & Visual Studies, Events, Faculty, Graduate, Research, School of Music, Theatre, Undergraduate, Visual Arts, Writing
Ideafest — UVic’s week-long free festival of world-changing ideas — is once again ready to welcome thinkers, innovators, artists and audiences to a fascinating range of events across campus. This year’s festival features hundreds of speakers, presenting on topics ranging from the creative economy and ocean sustainability to cybernetic innovations and Indigenous resurgence. Fine Arts is once again a major participant in Ideafest, with our faculty or students participating in eight different events.
For the Faculty of Fine Arts, Ideafest starts off with the student exhibit Sensitive chaos: The Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air. Organized by instructor David Gifford, the exhibit showcases the work of his Drawing 300 class and expands the concept of what it means to illustrate an idea. The exhibit is inspired by Theodor Schwenk’s 1965 book of the same title, an exploration of fluid dynamics in relation to our ability to read patterns revealed in nature and art. As Jacques Cousteau says in the book’s forward, “All that life around us was really water, modeled according to its own laws, vitalized by each fresh venture, striving to rise into consciousness.” 9am – 5pm daily March 6-11 in the Visual Arts courtyard and Audain Gallery.
Our signature Fine Arts panel discussion this year is focused on Rethinking the Creative Economy, an important and timely discussion about the economic impact of creativity and creative production. Indeed, when it comes to the creative economy, myths often trump facts: while some believe the arts have no significant financial impact, the cultural sector boasts 700,000-plus jobs and contributes more than $60 billion annually to the Canadian economy—10 times more than sports, and that’s not even factoring in the value of art. This lively panel discussion will blow the lid off outdated arts myths, consider culture’s lasting impact and explore our key investment: our students. Moderator and Dean of Fine Arts Susan Lewis will be joined by panelists including Kirk McNally (School of Music), Maureen Bradley (Writing), Tony Vickery (Theatre), Cedric Bomford (Visual Arts) and Melissa Berry (Art History & Visual Studies), plus special guest David Dunne from the Gustavson School of Business. 4 – 6pm Tuesday, March 7, in Turpin A110.
That same night, Rande Cook — the current Audain Chair in Contemporary Art Practice of the Pacific Northwest for the Visual Arts department — will join university chancellor and celebrated broadcast journalist Shelagh Rogers for Reconciliation and Resurgence: How Indigenous Artists are Re-imagining the Story of Canada. Rogers, an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, offers an intimate conversation with Indigenous visual artists Cook, Carey Newman and visual anthropologist and Art History and Visual Studies alumna Andrea Walsh. Across Canada, contemporary Indigenous artists are using images to explore place, truth and identity and challenging us to transform our perspectives, conversations and ideas. Collectively, this great imagining is playing a unique and pivotal role in understanding our past and determining our shared future. This event will be hosted by UVic’s Vice-President Research, David Castle. 7 – 9pm Tuesday, March 7 at Alix Goolden Hall, 907 Pandora. Note: registration is required for this free event.
Interested in what Fine Arts students are creating and researching? Don’t miss the always-fascinating Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA) Fair, which offers exceptional undergraduate students the opportunity to carry out research in their field of study. The annual JCURA Fair will feature over 100 of these inspiring projects, with Fine Arts student projects ranging from Saskatchewan folklore and 19th century social behaviour here in Victoria to the use of brass instruments in Chinese music and intergenerational theatre for educational sexual health projects. Click on the links to read about JCURA projects by Writing students Leone Brander and Holly Lam, Visual Arts students Artemis Feldman and Brandon Poole, Music students Ian VanGils, Alex Klassen and Jordan Shier, Art History & Visual Studies students McKaila Ferguson, Lorinda Fraser and Baylee Woodley, and Theatre students Mary Barbara Clerihue and Leah Tidey. 11:30am – 3pm Wednesday, March 8, in the Student Union Building (SUB) Michele Pujol room and Upper Lounge.
Goya’s The Third of May 1808
From the Russian Revolution to the Arab Spring uprising, from Palestine’s West Bank to the gates of the White House — wherever there is political unrest, there is art. And at a time when (sadly) xenophobia, ethnocentrism, political tensions and censorship are on the rise, art and the visual — from the meme to the masterpiece — have more to offer society than ever before in human history. Don’t miss the lively panel Why Art Matters in Dangerous Times featuring Art History & Visual Studies professors Victoria Wyatt, Astri Wright, Melia Belli, Evanthia Baboula and Lianne McLarty. This panel event accompanies the exhibition Learning through looking: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Department of Art History & Visual Studies. 5 – 7pm Wednesday, March 8, in room 025 of the McPherson Library.
Meet the next generation of Canadian literature at The Write Stuff, where MFA students from UVic’s legendary Department of Writing read (and perform) ground-breaking graduating manuscripts in fiction, poetry, screenwriting and playwriting and creative nonfiction at this lively (and licensed) literary cabaret. Presenters include Claire Mulligan (screenwriting), Alexa Eldred (fiction), Melissa Taylor (playwriting), Kelsey Lauder (fiction) and Nicola MacWilliam (poetry). 6:30pm Thursday, March 9, at the Copper Owl, 1900 Douglas. While admission is free, please note there are no minors allowed in this licensed venue.
How do artists of colour experience race and identity? That’s the question behind Re-imagining Race, Art and Landscape. Hooked to the current Legacy Gallery exhibit The Mystery of Grafton Tyler Brown, three contemporary Victoria artists of colour — Victoria’s 2016 youth poet laureate Ann-Bernice Thomas, also a Writing/Theatre undergrad — plus painter and performance artist Charles Campbell and filmmaker Kemi Craig — will perform new work relating to racial identity. Grafton Tyler Brown was one of the first professional landscape artists in BC, and the story of his racial identity shifted throughout his career to where he eventually passed for white. 7 – 9pm Friday, March 10, at the Legacy Gallery Downtown, 630 Yates.
Borrow a book, discover a person: that’s the whole focus of the Phoenix Theatre Human Library, a fascinating project that pairs Phoenix pioneers, current educators and local industry professionals with visitors. At the “circulation desk,” you’ll get your own Human Library card and the chance to check out one of a dozen possible human books ranging from titles like “Actor”, “Playwright” or “Producer.” A one-on-one informal conversation will begin and the rest is up to you. Following a theme of “Theatre then and in the future,” participants include the likes of former faculty member John Krich, alumnus playwright/author Mark Leiren-Young, Intrepid Theatre director Heather Lindsay, theatre historian James Hoffman, and local actor Kirsten Van Ritzen, with more to be announced.
“Books” are available on a rotating schedule and are subject to availability, so please be aware that not every book will be available during all hours the Human Library is open. If you’ve never participated in a Human Library before, don’t miss this chance to participate in this culture phenomenon that began in Denmark in 2000; since then, over 65 countries have connected tens of thousands of “readers” with “books” from all walks of life at thousands of these events! Please arrive earlier than before you expect to “read” your book — books are checked out on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9:30am, 30 minutes before the Phoenix Theatre Human Library opens. This is another signature event in the Department of Theatre’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations. 10am – 4pm Saturday, March 11, in the Phoenix Theatre lobby.
While these are what we’ll have on view for Fine Arts, be sure to see the complete schedule of all Ideafest events. Let your curiosity guide you and be inspired by ideas that really can change everything!
by John Threlfall | Jun 15, 2016 | Alumni, Art History & Visual Studies, Award, Graduate, Undergraduate
Regan Shrumm, circa 2013
While much of the convocation spotlight naturally falls on our undergraduates, we’re pleased to see recent Art History & Visual Studies alumna Regan Shrumm step back into the spotlight on June 15 as the recipient of UVic’s 2015 Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal—presented annually to a student with a particularly outstanding project or extended essay, other than thesis.
“Receiving this award will definitely help in perusing a career in writing and curatorship,” says Shrumm. “But I’m once again shocked and honoured to receive such a major award.”
Already the recipient of a 2011 Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Award and the 2013 Victoria Medal (for the highest GPA of any graduating Fine Arts student), Shrumm also co-curated the 2014 Legacy Galleries exhibit Windows Into Heaven: Religious Icons from the Permanent Collection. She received the highly competitive SSHRC Joseph Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship to pursue her MA in Art History & Visual Studies, and her resulting research project—“‘Knitting for our Lives’: The Appropriation of the Cowichan Sweaters by the Hudson’s Bay Company during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics”—used the Olympic Games as a case study to raise critical questions relating to similar issues in diverse contemporary contexts, and explore complex issues of cultural appropriation.
Shrumm’s MA work focused on faux Cowichan sweaters
“Regan is an outstanding scholar who demonstrates the relevance of art historical research to complex contemporary issues,” notes Art History & Visual Studies professor Victoria Wyatt, Shrumm’s MA supervisor. “When Regan embraced her research, she held very strong opinions, yet skillfully negotiated the difference between conscientious academic research and editorializing . . . . She demonstrated poignantly that we need not be distanced from controversial topics to study them rigorously.”
Despite the praise, Shrumm doesn’t think of herself as a conventional art historian. “I like to explore more ephemeral or commonplace material culture, not necessary fine arts,” she explains. “I also look at material culture through a cultural history that continues to be perceivable today, rather than a visually analytical context. If I can make a topic relevant for contemporary times, I feel like the research will be pertinent to a larger part of society, not just other academics in the field . . . . both art historians and curators should be blurring the lines between academic research, political activism, and community organization to make art more relevant to all.”
Regan Shrumm at the Smithsonian’s Ray Charles display, which she worked on as an intern
After graduating, Shrumm held an internship at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History in Washington DC, working on the exhibition Ray Charles: “The Genius” and related websites.
“Interning for the Smithsonian was very different from my past experiences—I had previously only worked for small institutions with no more than five full-time employees, so to work for an organization whose budget and visitors were in the millions was overwhelming, to say the least,” she says. “I learned that no matter how large a non-profit is there is always a lack of time and resources. After my experience at the Smithsonian, I then realized how amazing it is that small institutions like the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has such a diversity of programming with an even more limited budget.”
Shrumm also notes how the Smithsonian internship benefited her on a practical level. “I discovered how important it is to know programs such as Adobe Creative Suites and HTML. My original project at the Smithsonian never developed due to a lack of funding, but I was easily assigned to a larger task of website manager for a new Smithsonian-wide program called Smithsonian Music when my supervisor realized I had prior website skills.”
Currently working as the senior curatorial assistant for downtown’s Open Space artist-run centre, Shrumm is in the process of applying for a grant to become their Curator-in-Residence. She notes that her studies “really helped with my researching and writing skills,” and that her MA work emphasized different writing styles, from short blog posts to long form essays to SSHRC grants. “Knowledge of how to write in these various modes of writing helped me produce exhibition labels, mission statements, and newsletter blogs for a wide range of audiences.”
These skills particularly came in hand while she was at the Smithsonian, she says. “The Smithsonian is actually very similar to a university system, with each museum being a different department, and every museum having several libraries in order to have the best researching resources. I would often sit in the American History library reading for hours to become knowledgeable in a subject, just as I had done in university.”
An outstanding student now ready to become an outstanding professional, Regan Shrumm is a fantastic example of how pursuing Art History & Visual Studies can prepare you for an exciting career. As her supervising professor Dr. Wyatt says, “Regan stands poised for a brilliant career in gallery and museum contexts.”
by John Threlfall | Apr 11, 2016 | Events, Undergraduate, Visual Arts
If you think organizing an art show is simply about hanging paintings on a wall, think again. As the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts graduating exhibit in the Department of Visual Arts reveals, there’s as much innovation as inspiration behind a well-planned exhibition.
“This is where students learn that practicing artists are true entrepreneurs,” says Visual Arts professor and faculty supervisor Megan Dickie. “They conceptualize a project, test it, and produce it. Then through the BFA exhibition they discover how to fundraise, keep financial records, create publications, promote and present their work in a professional gallery setting.”
This year’s exhibit—titled Iterations—will fill the Visual Arts building with work by more than 30 student artists between April 15 and 21. Featuring a wide variety of mediums—including painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, installation and extended media works—Iterations offers a fascinating look at the work being produced at one of Canada’s lead contemporary art institutions.
The west coast-inspired work of Luke Fair (right) will appear at Iterations
“The work represents the self-directed nature of our program, where students learn to invest in their own research using a variety of artistic mediums to bring their projects to fruition,” says Dickie.
Dickie notes that she and fellow professor Robert Youds function both as curators and advisors for the exhibit. “In the early stages, Rob and I give the students a basic outline of the different stages of the process— then, during the installation week, we curate the exhibition,” she explains. “There is no adjudication process; students put forth their best work. We are also there to support the students by answering questions and by working with administration staff.”
Given 30-plus artists and 10 rooms, expect to see an explosion of Iterations at the event, which opens with a gala reception beginning at 7pm Friday, April 15.
Apple Gouzheng’s ironic conceptual piece will be on exhibit at Iterations
“It feels great to see the BFA show,” says Dickie. “We are very proud of our students—they work incredibly hard during the school term and even harder to prepare for this exhibition. As a professor, there’s nothing more rewarding then seeing your students achieve success.”
The annual BFA exhibit is a highlight of any academic year in Fine Arts. Much like School of Music students with their final concerts and Theatre students with their mainstage performances, the BFA show is an important milestone in the training of Visual Arts students. You can read about an earlier BFA show here.
Iterations runs April 15-21 in the Visual Arts building. Open from noon-6pm daily, with a 7pm to late opening reception on Friday, April 15.
by mhuston | Feb 18, 2016
Faculty Research & Creative Activity Fine Arts in the spotlight at Ideafest As millennia of human progress and innovation has proven, ideas can change everything. And ideas once again take centre-stage on campus with Ideafest, UVic’s annual research...
