What does it feel like inside the mind of someone with bipolar disorder? This play gives a glimpse
Brad Necyk's play Stormshelter gives you a compassionate look into the experience of living with the disorder
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2018 annual "Built" pop-up shop by the Student Design Association
Andres Palomino, President of the U of A Student Design Assocation (SDA), gives a quick tour of "Built," the annual pop-up shop where you can purchase original creations by Art & Design students while helping them through school and into their careers. Andres shows off just some of the many cool and interesting products, all made locally.
Artists Helen Gerritzen and Marilène Oliver Explore Anatomy and Feminist Themes in "Brains and Breasts: Omitted Anatomies"
Helen Gerritzen and Marilène Oliver were both working on projects related to The Great Lady before they met. Gerritzen was focused on the missing mammary glands, and Oliver was working on the brain, which was also absent from Leonardo da Vinci's piece. They were adding missing pieces to the same puzzle.
Top 40 under 40: Dr. Michiko Maruyama
She's an aspiring heart surgeon. And a toy designer. Her son is now just over a year old. She designed the card game, Doctors Against Tragedies, which has the same lack of subtlety as Cards Against Humanity. The game tackles the opioid crisis, and is part of a non-profit campaign Maruyama launched to bring more awareness to the issue.
New student-designed ashtrays aim to keep butts and roaches off city streets
Improved canisters at designated smoking areas in Edmonton started off as a class project for three U of A design students.
Royal Alberta Museum's residential schools exhibit tells the 'story of Canada'
The residential schools exhibit showcases some of the realities of the residential school system in Alberta, and was curated by Indigenous artist and University of Alberta Art & Design associate professor Tanya Harnett, who is also a member of the Indigenous content advisory panel for the museum.
Visual art exhibition "Biomythography" enchants FAB Gallery
U of A Augustana Fine Arts professors' work encounters myth and masculinity
Edmonton Artist Wins Honourable Mention in National Painting Competition
Edmonton artist Emmanuel Osahor (BFA '14) was awarded an Honourable Mention at this year's RBC Canadian Painting Competition for his painting "Hiding Place." The honour comes with a $15,000 prize, and his painting will be added to RBC's corporate art collection.
Psychiatry PhD candidate Brad Necyk studies illness with visual art
Nycek's FAB Gallery exhibition "Telling Stories Otherwise" illustrated journeys with illness
Alexis Marie Chute: Artist of All Trades
2018 Alumni Honour Award winner, Alexis Marie Chute, channeled the loss of her child into expressions of resiliency
Psychiatry student uses art to shed light on the darkest shades of illness
For Brad Necyk, giving visual form to the pain of cancer and mental illness is a way to help patients heal.
Congratulations to our RGD 2018 Student Award winners
Recent BDes graduates Paul Twa and Hilary Zak received the "Entro Award for Placemaking Design," and VCD student Peter Elima received the "50 Carleton Award for Logo Design." Naomi Brierley, Adrianna Chong and Peter Elima were also recognized with Honourable Mentions.
Max Keene (BFA '18) wins regional BMO 1st Art! competition
BFA grad ('18) Max Keene is the regional winner of the BMO 1st Art! Competition. Max credits his professors in the Department of Art & Design, and his instructor, Kyle Terrence, for providing him the time needed to complete what Max describes as "the most labour-intensive project" he'd ever done during his degree.
Mixing science and art to make the truth more interesting than lies
Members of the Department of Art & Design are using art to talk science. Sean Caulfield and Blair Brennan are among those artists helping Canada Research Chair, Timothy Caulfield, with SCI + POP, a new social media project that circulates images to communicate research findings and provide commentary on science and health policy.
Brad Necyk knows what living with mental illness is like and his VR art share's the patients POV
After a CAMH research trip, he had his worst manic episode. This show pulls the experiences together.
Quirky Franconia Sculpture Park offers day trip, artist haven and free scavenger hunt
A third-year BFA student at the University of Alberta, Chantel Schultz came to the park as a summer intern. She was given room and board in exchange for working at the park. Then she found her own sculptural materials to play with-chunks of Styrofoam that were about to be tossed away.
Seniors and art students team up for film series
Megan Strickfaden (Department of Human Ecology) worked with students, including Art & Design undergrad student Veronika McGinnis (for "Necklace and Musical Notes"), and MDes alumni Carlos Fiorentino and Adolfo Ruiz, to create films for caregivers based on how people relate to their environments.
Two Edmonton Artists Make RBC Canadian Painting Competition Finals
Edmonton artists Ally McIntyre and Emmanuel Osahor have a number of things in common-they both graduated from the University of Alberta's Bachelor of Fine Arts program, they both use plants as subjects in their artwork, and they are both finalists in the 2018 RBC Canadian Painting Competition.
Meet Edmonton's two plant-loving RBC Canadian Painting Competition nominees
About a month ago, Ally McIntyre learned what the rest of us just heard: that she's one of two Edmonton artists nominated for the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. The other local nominee, Emmanuel Osahor, just had the honour of having the largest installation at this year's Works at the legislature grounds for two weeks.
BFA student Chantel Schultz awarded Franconia Sculpture Park internship
BFA student Chantel Schultz was awarded an internship at the Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota. Before she left, she was kind enough to tell us about this incredible opportunity to work alongside some amazing artists.
Gillian Willans Wins Edmonton's Foote Prize
Gillian Willans is the winner of the $10,000 Eldon and Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize. Willans, painting instructor and MFA alumna from the University of Alberta, is known for work that considers domestic interiors.
Remembering Stan Szynkowski
On May 23, 2018, the Faculty of Arts was saddened by the recent passing of artist and longtime staff member Stan Szynkowski.
Royden Mills's Resonant Progression Recognized for Excellence by Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts today honored 49 outstanding public arts projects created in 2017. Resonant Progression, created by Edmonton sculptor Royden Mills, sculptor instructor in the Department of Art & Design, consists of three sculptures placed in conceptually linked sites throughout Terwillegar Park.
How a design graduate used visual acumen to fight HIV stigma
Design grad student Bahaa Harmouche, who describes himself as a "social designer," used the power of filmmaking and digital media to create social awareness and empathy for people living with HIV.
Together: une exposition célébrant le 100e anniversaire de la fondation de la Tchécoslovaquie
Together : une exposition célébrant le 100e anniversaire de la fondation de la Tchécoslovaquie
Labours of Pain and Love
"Crash Pad" is an exhibition and durational performance by Cindy Baker, Drawing/Intermedia Instructor at the Department of Art & Design, that explores the tireless work of rest and wellness. The centrepiece of Cindy Baker's solo exhibition is a durational performance in which the artist-alone or accompanied by another performer-rests on a sculptural object resembling a blister-packed pill on the floor of the gallery space.
AGA exhibit features three prominent Indigenous artists
"I am so very delighted to have had my work chosen for this unique Landmark exhibition," smiled artist Tanya Harnett, who said she was pleased that Albertans and visitors to the province would now have even more opportunity to see her work and absorb the messages she's left in her wake.
Light/Matter Exhibition Preview with Walter Jule
The LIGHT/MATTER exhibition presents an international selection from the photo-print movement, featuring works that unite the diverse historical lineages of printmaking with modern photography and visual culture. In layering and producing photographs with a host of print processes, photo-prints offer a record of how we see and value images.
Jill Stanton kicks off NextFest with symbolism-filled mural on Varscona Theatre
The two-walled mural is commissioned by NextFest, the city's multidisciplinary celebration of young and emerging artists, running Thursday through June 10 around town. The as-yet-untitled Varscona artwork is the festival's fourth annual mentor-student mural project. BFA graduate Jill Stanton is lead artist and BFA student Breanna Barrington is Stanton's "mentee" on the work.
Revolutionary Printmaking: Discovering the Exhibition "Light/Matter"
While visiting the exhibition "Light/Matter: Art at the Intersection of Photography and Printmaking" the works of art on the walls might not come across as revolutionary. However, that is exactly what these prints are - they represent a technique in printmaking, one that utilizes photography in any shape and form, that has lived a strained existence with the rest of the printmaking world.
Combining medicine and industrial design to change how we communicate about our health
Dr. Michiko Maruyama of Edmonton is a master of merging her passions and pushing convention. Her interest in art and design began at an early age, but her experience as a medical patient at Edmonton's Cross Cancer Institute changed her life and made her want to be a doctor.
Geoffrey Lilge's Div.12 is Capturing a High Point in Canadian Design
Within an industrial park in northwestern Edmonton, a weathered-steel warehouse has become the headquarters for Div.12, owned and operated by Geoffrey Lilge (MDes '92). The designer and entrepreneur has big plans for this half-burned-out metal shack: to transform it into a creative hub for the manufacturing of simple yet well-made metal furniture designed by some of Canada's hottest talents.
Jim Corrigan inducted into UAlberta Museums Hall of Fame
The University of Alberta Museums Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding contributions by long-term curators and staff of University of Alberta Museums collections. Jim Corrigan, Curator of the University of Alberta Art Collection, is the 2018 Hall of Fame inductee.
Joan Greer wins Campus Sustainability Leadership Award
History of Art, Design and Visual Culture professor Joan Greer is a steadfast voice in environmental research and advocacy, and she is perhaps most recognized on campus for her ground-breaking and ongoing work in sustainable design pedagogy.
Grad students compete to boil down 80,000-word thesis into three-minute pitch
Master of Design student Michiko Maruyama integrates her talents for design and medicine in her Three Minute Thesis presentation about toys she has created to help children understand heart surgery.
Announcing the Winners of Images of Research 2018
The Images of Research (IOR) competition is an opportunity for current University of Alberta graduate students from all disciplines to capture, share, and present the essence of their research in one image. Winners from the Department of Art & Design include Master of Design students Anna Chakravorty and Zohreh Valiary, and Master of Fine Arts student Kim McCollum.
Social Seen: Please Touch industry reception
Visitors and design industry professionals check out designs on showcase during the University of Alberta Bachelor of Design's Please Touch industry night reception at the FAB Gallery on campus in Edmonton.
Emotionally gripping art exhibits at the University of Alberta
There are two striking art exhibits on display at the UofA's Fine Arts Building Gallery, produced by Master of Fine Arts Candidates. "Not Yet Earth," by Madeline Mackay explores the unique identity of flesh as a sense of regaining a sense of control over a body when it is fighting a disease. "Lacuna", by Becky Thera showcases the rawness of trauma.
'Trauma is wordless': Fine Arts graduate reflects traumatic experience in her art
Becky Thera is a Fine Arts graduate who has created an art installation lending her own perspective to the #metoo movement
Fine arts student lends powerful artistic perspective to #MeToo
It isn't something she could have planned, but Becky Thera's final presentation for her master's degree in fine arts could not have arrived at a better time.
Cities and Climate Change Science Conference Features UAlberta Artists
Cities and municipalities will lead the charge in tackling global climate change, Mayor Don Iveson said Tuesday ahead of an international climate conference. The series includes a panel discussion at the Art Gallery of Alberta with University of Alberta professors and a University of Alberta student art exhibition at Rutherford Library.
International conference to exhibit art focused on climate change
Brad Fehr, Sean Caulfield and Nick Davies, from the Department of Art & Design at the University of Alberta, discuss why art is important in relation to the subject of climate change at the upcoming CitiesIPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference.
Meet Blair Brennan, The Man Behind FAB Gallery
If you've ever seen the amazing exhibitions at the University of Alberta's FAB Gallery, you may have seen Blair Brennan somewhere about. As the Galleries and Exhibitions Manager, Blair helps showcase some of the best artwork in Canada, from student artists and designers, faculty, and internationally acclaimed guest exhibitions.
Interview with Sergio Serrano and Dara Humniski
Design Studies alumni and local artists Dara Humniski and Sergio Serrano are the second to use the RBC Work Room at the Art Gallery of Alberta, a studio space where you can watch artworks in the making.
A Journey of Self-Discovery... in a Foreign Country
Selen Erkut, a Bachelor of Design student, learned how to be a better global citizen through UAlberta's e3 critical design program in Berlin
Meet the Caulfields: A Family of Creatives
Art and science are often viewed in opposition to one another, but in the Caulfield family, these pursuits co-mingle in extraordinarily creative and collaborative ways
Visions of Edmonton: Local Artists on the Valley Line LRT
Fantastical plants and flowers will cover the canopies of the Muttart Stop. Edmonton-born artist and Department of Art & Design Sculpture technician Stephanie Jonsson cites the nearby Muttart Conservatory as an early artistic influence that continues to fuel her fascination with organic shapes.
LRT Stop to Feature Art by Stephanie Jonsson
Stephanie Jonsson, U of A sculptor and head technician (Sculpture division), was awarded a major public art commission from the City of Edmonton for the new Valley Line LRT stop at the Muttart Conservatory.
FAB Gallery exhibition explores belonging and displacement
Artist Noemi de Bruijn invites us to explore the idea of belonging and displacement through a series of imaginative and emotionally evocative paintings. Through portraying houses, bunkers and shelters, as well as looking at themes of war, immigration, and safety, Bruijn questions what it means to feel at home.
Blair Brennan: Get It Down On Paper
Blair Brennan gave his Get It Down On Paper artist talk to a packed house in November 2017. If you missed the talk or want to revisit his excellent thoughts on artmaking, he has provided his talk for the Bleeding Heart Space blog.