Schism, 2013, digital inkjet, screenprinting and Chine collé
Current MFA printmaking candidates Grace Sippy and Amanda Forrest-Chan at the University of Alberta have won significant awards this year. In addition, former printmaking graduates Matthew J. Rangel, Mitch Mitchell, Shannon Collis and Tracy Templeton have all recently been granted tenure track appointments in Canada and abroad.
Grace Sippy, a current MFA candidate, was one of fifteen artists to be awarded a Guanlan International Print Prize in the fourth bi-annual Guanlan International Print Biennial in Guanlan, China, for her print "Schism." The award includes a trip to China to participate in a forum and to attend the opening, plus a cash award. Sippy has also been invited to participate in a residency and to work with the assistance of highly skilled technicians at the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base. This exhibition also featured the work of Art and Design graduate and undergraduate printmaking students Agata Derda and Meiyi Wang.
Amanda Forrest-Chan, currently in the second year of her MFA program, has received the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement from SSHRC to work and do research at the University of Dundee in Scotland for three months during her MFA program. From June to September she will be researching with neurologists at the Wellcome Trust Biosphere at the University of Dundee and incorporating images related to neuronal function into her print practice.
Forrest-Chan will also help with preparations for the Impact8 International Printmaking Conference, the largest of its kind in the world. The theme of the conference this year is Borders & Crossings: the artist as explorer, to be held August 28-September 1.
In addition to these prestigious awards, a number of former MFA graduates from the printmaking department have gone on to find full time tenure track positions in the past year:
- Matthew J. Rangel graduated in 2008 and is now Assistant Professor (tenure track) at the University of New Mexico.
- Mitch Mitchell graduated in 2009 and is now Assistant Professor (tenure track) at Concordia University in Montreal.
- Shannon Collis graduated in 2005 and is now Assistant Professor (tenure track) at the University of Maryland (main campus), after having taught for a number of years as a contract academic at Washington University in St. Louis.
- Tracy Templeton graduated in 1997 and is now Associate Professor, University of Indiana (Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis), after having taught for a number of years in Oregon.
Several senior printmaking students have been accepted into MFA or other programs for the coming year. These include:
- Meiyi Wang (Royal College of Art, London).
- Erin Walker (Masters in Art Conservation program, Northumbria University in Newcastle, England)
- Dominika Koziak (School of Visual Arts, New York).
- Kelsey Stephenson (University of Tennessee, Knoxville).
- Tim Grieco (Academy of the Arts, Vienna).
Finally, senior BFA student Cara Seccafien, currently serving as president of the Visual Arts Student Association (VASA), has received the 8-month Residency Scholarship at the Malaspina print workshop in Vancouver. The residency program, now in its seventh year, awards graduating students with a free studio space aimed at easing the transition towards becoming a practicing artist. Seccafien starts her term in September.