Stories from the Creative Edge
Alumni
The freelance life of Jenessa Joy Klukas
Given the 24-hour global news cycle, we’re living in a time of rapid media consumption, but freelance writer Jenessa Joy Klukas is finding success by keeping her focus tight and building relationships one story at a time. A recent Department of Writing graduate,...
Fine Arts makes 2022 UVic News top 10 list — twice!
Fine Arts was excited to see the continuing research and creative activity of our faculty members make it into two separate "UVic Top 10 of 2022" lists! Compiled by UVic News out of the many stories released across campus throughout the year, we congratulate the...
Theatre grad Markus Spodzieja’s kosher journey
While Stephen Sondheim made the Baker a central character in his musical Into The Woods, theatre isn't exactly filled with plum roles for those who love to bake. But in the case of Department of Theatre grad Markus Spodzieja, he went from the stage to starting a...
Trans queer UVic alumna named Rhodes Scholar
There’s getting a great education, and then there’s what you do with it. Canada’s first trans woman Rhodes scholar has big plans for both. University of Victoria graduate Julia Levy is one of 11 young Canadians—the only one in BC—chosen for the prestigious...
Exploring the hidden wonders of puppeteer Ingrid Hansen
UVic Theatre grad Ingrid Hansen puppeteering Num Num Bird on Fraggle Rock: Back to the RockIf you made a list of the most fun careers, “professional puppeteer” would surely be somewhere near the top. And for any fan of fuzzy fur and funky foam, it doesn’t get much...
Theatre alum Stacy Ross continues to make the news
Stacy Ross did not grow up giving pretend interviews and dreaming of being a television anchor. In fact, the Metchosin-raised Ross had her heart set on a life in theatre. “My first love was always theatre and musical theatre . . . I always thought my dream job would...
Giving Tuesday supports Student Impact Fund
Tuesday, November 29 is Giving Tuesday—the world’s largest generosity movement! Today, Fine Arts is asking our creative community to help us raise funds for the Fine Arts Community Impact Award—and we’re fortunate enough to have a generous donor offering to match all...
Fine Arts active with 5 Days of Action
UVic's 5 Days of Action is back! Running Nov 14-18, Five Days of Action: 365 Days of Commitment is UVic’s annual free, week-long event aimed at amplifying the work groups, units and organizations are doing to create a more diverse, inclusive and equitable campus and...
A coding career composed of science and sound
When Calgary-based Logan Wood was looking for a leading post-secondary music and computer science degree program, he quickly realized that there was only real choice for him. “In comparing programs across the country, UVic stood out for me,” he says. Despite landing...
Discover Shane Book’s world of words
When Shane Book began teaching poetry workshops at the University of Victoria in 2017, he had to fill out a form listing the number of times he had moved. After some mental gymnastics, he arrived at an approximate number: 65. “I think I’m on the spectrum of it’s...
Fine Arts well-represented at 2022 GVRA Awards
For over 50 years, Fine Arts has been an incubator for young artists, technicians, arts administrators, volunteers and audience members. And while our alumni and faculty members continue to make a vital impact on Victoria’s arts community, it's also important to...
Awinakola: Tree of Life public discussion
How can art help develop strategies to heal the planet, heal the people and change culture? Find out at this free public talk by the Awinakola: Tree of Life Research Group from 3-4:30pm Sat Sept 10 in room A162 of UVic's Visual Arts building. This community...
Young Alumni Lunch & Learn sessions engage current students
While Fine Arts has no shortage of national and internationally renowned alumni at the peak of their careers, finding meaningful ways to engage our more recent graduates remains a priority for the faculty. With that in mind, this year we created a new “Young Alumni...
Art gallery a fertile ground for magic of forests
A screenshot from “The Ground That Mends,” the stop motion video by UVic fine arts PhD alumna Connie Michele MoreyGroundbreaking research in the 1990s by forest ecologist Suzanne Simard revealed that trees “talk” to each other through an underground network of fungi....
Sharing fears and truths about climate change
Crookes Professor Sean Holman (right) with Writing student Sandra IbrahimRecent climate-related disasters—from heatwaves and wildfires to floods and hurricanes—make it clear that we need to prepare for climate change, while also trying to prevent it. Journalists and...
Visual arts grad Dieu Anh Hoang has designs on life
If you ask international student Dieu Anh Hoang what aspect of her undergraduate degree had the biggest impact on her, she’ll tell you it wasn’t the pandemic, it wasn’t her co-op terms and it wasn’t even earning her BFA in Visual Arts with honours: it was actually a...
Kim Senklip Harvey on the confusion of colonial ceremonies
Kim Senklip Harvey performs a water ceremony on the Tsilhqot'inAcclaimed writer and recent UVic grad Kim Senklip Harvey recalls her life to date in ceremonies—and lineups, many lineups At my kindergarten graduation, the teacher gave us a certificate and a penny to...
New Summer Arts Series with Continuing Studies
New for summer 2022, Fine Arts is offering our inaugural Summer Arts Series in partnership with UVic's Division of Continuing Studies and Alumni Relations, which will see returning alumni teaching courses for the general public. And for this first series, we've chosen...
Young Alumni Lunch & Learn Series: Finding Meaningful Work in the Arts
Everyone wants to find a relevant job after graduation, but what are the actual steps you’ll need to take to get there? How do you make connections and learn to network? How important can volunteering be to career development? What career assistance is available to...
Young Alumni Lunch & Learn Series: Are You Media Ready?
Whatever your creative practice, it's essential that you tell the right story about yourself—and have the kind of social media profile that shows you're serious about your craft. Join a recent grad for this insider-look at best practices when it comes to working with...
Distinguished Alumni
Fine Arts was thrilled to see three past graduates named among the 20 recipients of the UVic's 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awards announced on March 10. Presented by UVic and the University of Victoria Alumni Association, the awards recognize graduates who, through...
Meet our newest Youth Poet Laureate
When the City of Victoria recently announced the news that recent Writing / English double-major Eli Mushumanski had been chosen as the 2022 Youth Poet Laureate, we here at Fine Arts were justifiably proud. Mushumanski is the third YPL to come out of UVic's...
Young Alumni Lunch & Learn Series
Wondering how to connect your studies to the wider world of the arts? Interested in exploring creative career opportunities? Curious about professional life after graduation? Bring your questions when recent Fine Arts alumni offer the inside scoop in these moderated,...
Fine Arts well represented at the 2022 Victoria Film Festival
Running February 4-13, both online and in theatres, the Victoria Film Festival will descend on Victoria with a new raft of films to delight movie goers of all stripes. No stranger to the VFF, you'll once again find Fine Arts well-represented in these films and events:...
Michael LaPointe’s debut novel blurs the lines between facts & fictions
Twenty years into the post-truth world of the 21st century, it’s hard to remember a time when both the rise and fall of a promising young journalist could be caused by mixing a bit of fiction into the facts. We might call it journalistic fabrication, but Writing...
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...