Stories from the Creative Edge
Alumni
Alumni activity this fall
Looking for a good example of the interdisciplinary impact of Fine Arts alumni on the local arts scene? Consider the recent CRD Arts Champion Summit held in December, which included presentations by a wide range of our alumni including Mercedes...
Media & faculty activity this fall
There’s been no shortage of faculty activity beyond our departments this fall, with a wide range of professors and instructors appearing in the media, participating in festivals and exhibitions, or lending their expertise to workshops and symposia. Art History &...
Staging Equality is making change by building relationships with theatre
If you’ve ever attended a play in the Phoenix Building, odds are good you’ve been inside the Chief Dan George Theatre. Named for the actor and chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation whose talent took him beyond North Vancouver to become an Oscar-nominated actor, the...
Baylie Adams rehearses for success
When fourth-year School of Music saxophone player Baylie Adams wanted to make a community impact during last February’s Black History Month, she looked to her own instrument for inspiration. “We were only hearing about Black composers in terms of jazz music, so I...
Visiting Southam Lecturer: Andrew Nikiforuk
“I believe in getting into hot water: it keeps you clean.” —GK Chesterton As an author, journalist and contributing editor for The Tyee, Andrew Nikiforuk has written about the use—and abuse—of natural resources and wild landscapes in Canada for more than 30...
Jenessa Joy Klukas harnesses the power of the pen
When it comes to wrapping up a writing degree with a flourish, it’s hard to beat Jenessa Joy Klukas. Not only did Klukas finish the final year of her studies interning at the independent media outlet The Tyee as part of the Journalists for Human Rights’ Indigenous...
New Fine Arts Indigenous student award
At UVic, we are committed to facing head-on the realities of Canada’s history and present. The new Faculty of Fine Arts Indigenous Student Award brings us one step closer to meeting this commitment. More than just financial assistance for our students, this award is a...
Join us for a discussion on sustainability & the arts
The climate crisis is one of the most urgent problems of our time, and the arts can play a vital role in helping people better understand its impact. Discover how scholars and researchers in UVic’s Faculty of Fine Arts are responding to today’s defining issues with...
2021 Student Community Impact Award winners
The Faculty of Fine Arts is proud to announce the three recipients of our inaugural Fine Arts Student Community Impact Awards, presented as part of the annual Greater Victoria Regional Arts Awards on Oct 1 at a live event held at Sidney’s Winspear Centre. Each...
Climate-crisis sparks new journalism position
Wildfires, droughts, floods, extreme storms: we are living in a time when climate change should be the biggest story of our time—yet, as the recent federal election proved, all too often it doesn’t even make the headlines. As the new Wayne Crookes Professor in...
ONC Artist in Residence debuts “Gossip with Whales”
The ocean has many songs to sing! Join us for this feast of music and celebration as we launch the world premiere performances of four new choral compositions created during Dennis Gupa's artistic residency with Ocean Networks Canada. Together with a panel of...
Banting Fellow & Vanier Scholar named in Fine Arts
Fine Arts researchers and creative practitioners Taylor Brook and Troy Sebastian are among UVic's recipients of the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholars, "Congratulations to Taylor and Troy," says Acting Dean Allana...
Poetry & motion: Writing alumni Billeh Nickerson
There’s a delightful irony in the fact that the most memorable part of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the oldest president in US history was the reading by the youngest poet to ever appear at such a ceremony. Arguably the highlight of the event, 23-year-old Amanda...
Theatre alum Justin Lee explores cultural hybrids
If the COVID era has shown us anything, it’s that the future of theatre continues to be written. When the pandemic forced the shuttering of performance venues, stages around the world suddenly realized they would have to adapt to survive. Enter the age of mainstage...
Writing MFA Kim Harvey wins GG Award for Drama
On June 1, Syilx & Tsilhqot’in playwright & director Kim Senklip Harvey became the first Indigenous woman to win the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for her play Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story (Talon Books)—less than a week after receiving...
Congratulations to spring 2021 grads!
Congratulations, Class of 2021—you made it! You are now one of over 9000 Fine Arts alumni worldwide who studied at UVic—and have the distinction of graduating during the most difficult year in our history. "As part of an esteemed group of artists and creative...
Distinguished Alumni Talk: Mercedes Bátiz-Benét on supporting IBPoC voices
When it comes to working in the arts and theatre sectors, IBPoC artists (Indigenous, Black, People of Colour) face a number of barriers due to systemic discrimination—yet IBPoC artists have always created innovative and bold new work. As Puente Theatre’s artistic...
Susie Winter’s feature film screenplay started as student project
It all started with an empty boat floating on a lake. Screenwriter Susie Winters (BFA ’16) recalls driving alongside the vast expanse of Cameron Lake just east of Port Alberni when the image first drifted into her mind, inspiring what would become the screenplay for...
In Memoriam: Dr. Anthony Welch
It is with great sadness we mark the passing of Dr. Anthony Welch, noted art historian, scholar and academic leader. Dr. Welch had a long and distinguished career at the University of Victoria, beginning in 1971 as a lecturer with the Department of History in Art (now...
Orion Series presents alumna curator Charo Neville
The Orion Lecture Series in Fine ArtsThrough the generous support of the Orion Fund in Fine Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, is pleased to present:Charo Neville Visiting curator 7:30 - 9:00 pm (PST) Wednesday, February 24, 2021 Free...
Orion Series presents alumna artist Kelly Jazvac
The Orion Lecture Series in Fine ArtsThrough the generous support of the Orion Fund in Fine Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, is pleased to present:Kelly Jazvac Visiting alumni artist 7:30 - 9:00 pm (PST) Wednesday, February 10, 2021 ...
Esi Edugyan muses on values of a new world
The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered some of the biggest challenges of our time, including systemic racism, economic inequity and the climate crisis. What comes next and will it shape a new world? In such situations, some people yearn for a return to a remembered (or...
December 1 is Giving Tuesday
Are you ready to "add sprinkles" to the UVic experience on Giving Tuesday on December 1? Giving Tuesday is a global celebration of philanthropy that inspires people to support their favourite causes in any way they can. At UVic, Giving Tuesday is where small acts of...
Curating experience: Barkerville curator Mandy Kilsby
Curating experience: Barkerville curator Mandy Kilsby Perhaps one of the biggest cultural misperceptions is that history never changes—when, in fact, it changes as quickly as it’s written. Consider BC’s iconic Barkerville Historic Town: ground zero for the 1860s...
Writing grad Kai Conradi explores words, life and how they fit together
While it’s not unusual for a Department of Writing student to get their first publishing credit while still an undergraduate, it is rare when their story gains national attention and a shot at a $10,000 prize. But as an emerging poet and short-story writer, there’s no...
A new & different academic year
A new (and different) school year Welcome to issue 13 of the Fine Arts Connector and the start of a new academic year—one that we can definitely say will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. With only about 3,500 students on campus and the majority of classes...
Chelsea Kutyn sings for life
When graduating School of Music soprano Chelsea Kutyn decided to film a rehearsal for her graduation recital this spring, she had no idea that it would soon lead to national press coverage as a result of a life-threatening health risk. As the campus started to shut...
Writing prize nominations feature alumni, instructors
Along with the start of classes, September also sees the start of the annual book awards season—and so far, we're looking at a bumper crop of nominations for Fine Arts alumni and instructors. Journey Prize Kicking off the awards season is the $10,000 Writers' Trust...
Expanding our campus community
Expanding our campus community Welcome to issue 10 of the Fine Arts Connector, your regular listing of news, resources, activities and other shareable content from UVic's Faculty of Fine Arts. It's a handy way of keeping up with student, faculty and alumni activity...
Woven, embroidered and stitched
If you’re looking for cultural casualties of the spring pandemic, Fine Arts has plenty of examples: from cancelled concerts in the School of Music to the Visual Arts BFA grad exhibit and the final Phoenix Theatre production of the year, there was no shortage of...
Graduation celebration
Graduation celebration Welcome to issue 11 of the Fine Arts Connector, your regular listing of news, resources, activities and other shareable content from UVic's Faculty of Fine Arts. It's a handy way of keeping up with student, faculty and alumni activity while...
Honours BFA Rudra Manani explores Indo-Canadian identity through art
For most people, a visit to the yoga studio simply adds a bit of metaphysicality to their workout: a chance to breathe, stretch and realign their chakras with a few oms and namastes. But for Visual Arts undergraduate Rudra Manani, it’s an example of the widespread...