fields of design that have had significant

impacts through their innovative and

entrepreneurial approaches to design

practice, business, theory, use of materials,

and education.

The speakers presenting at ACAD as part

of Stirring Design 3: Women Innovators in

Design are leaders in the use of design as a

tool for transformation within our busi-

nesses, our communities and our daily lives.

ACAD is thrilled to welcome Jane Brown of

the firm MetaDesign, Meredith Davis of NC

State University, design anthropologist Dr.

Dori Tunstall of the University of Swinburne

in Australia, Shelley Evenson of Microsoft,

Sandy Chilewich of Chilewich Sultan LLP

and Marianne McKenna of KPMB Archi-

tects. All of these women are changing the

way design is considered in our world

today, and we are fortunate to be able to

host them at our College. All Stirring

Culture 3: Women Innovators in Design

speakers will also serve as Visiting Artists

at ACAD, interacting with students and

faculty.

November 25: JaNe browN – 5:30 pm

JaNuary 20: SaNdy chilewich – 5:30 pm

February 11: Shelley evaNSoN – 5:30 pm

march 17: meredith daviS – 6:00 pm

april 8: dori tuNStall – 5:30 pm

may 18: mariaNNe mcKeNNa - 5:30 pm

ACAD’s highly successful Stirring Culture

speaker series was initiated by the Institute

for the Creative Process at ACAD (ICP@

ACAD) in 2005. This 2009-2010 series of

public lectures will build upon the success

CATALYSTFall 2009 / Issue No. 2Alberta College of Art + Design

2554623

publication Notes

Catalyst is published by the Alberta

College of Art + Design. Articles may

be reprinted in whole or in part with

written permission. Please contact

AnneMarie Dorland at communica-

tions@acad.ca for more information.

Contact1407 – 14th Avenue N.W.

Calgary, Alberta T2N 4R3

403.284.7600

www.acad.ca

Profile: ACAD Studentmelinda topilkomelinda topilko

shares her

experience as an

ACAD student, and an emerg-

ing artist.

page 11

On the world stage at the Cheonju Inter-national Craft Biennial. ACAD faculty

showcase their work at the

Cheongju International Craft

Biennial, demonstrating excel-

lence in fine craft.page 3

ACAD gains exciting NASAD accreditation.Exciting news

about our newly

announced

Substantial Equivalency Status

recently granted by NASAD.

page 2

Profile: ACAD AlumniClaudina MorgadoClaudina

Morgado

shares the story of her

international career in the

arts, and her ACAD story.

page 10

Contents

of the 2004/2005 Stirring Culture series

which brought Bruce Mau, Charles Landry,

Will Alsop and others to Calgary, and the

2007/2008 series, featuring Jean-Daniel

Lafond, Peter Sellars, Louise Blouin

MacBain and Richard Florida.

ACAD’s Stirring Culture 3: Women

Innovators in Design will be held at the

Calgary Public Library’s Central Library

Theatre and will run as six lectures between

October 2009 and April 2010. This series is

sponsored by the generous support of the

ACAD President’s Circle.

ACAD is committed to the cultivation of

dialogue, research and to our role as a

catalyst cultural institution. We look

forward to presenting the Stirring Culture 3:

Women Innovators in Design series in 2009

and 2010, and to igniting valuable dialogue

about the commitments we must make as a

community to foster the transformative

power of design thinking and to nurture the

creative design process. Join us throughout

the 2009-2010 season we look forward to

seeing you there!

For more information Stirring Culture

please visit acad.ca/stirringculture. ■

his year, ACAD

is celebrating

the continuing

evolution of this

important series

with Stirring

Culture 3: Women

Innovators in

Design, a unique series of public lectures by

prominent women designers with interna-

tionally successful practices in the various

TCuLTurAL

LeADerShIp

Photography

John Gaucher

acad is very excited

to announce plans for

the much-anticipated

upcoming season of

the 2009-10 Stirring

culture lecture series.

acad’s Stirring

culture is a free,

public event, and

has brought some of

the most important

voices in art, design,

culture, and innova-

tion to calgary.

ThIS YeAr, ACAD IS CeLebrATINg

The CoNTINuINg evoLuTIoN oF

ThIS ImporTANT SerIeS wITh

Stirring Culture 3: Women

innovatorS in DeSign

welcoming excellence in design to ACADACAD ANNouNCeS pLANS For The ThIrD SeASoN oF STIrrINg CuLTure.

1

Due to the generosity of our donors, ACAD

has also received $1,294,239 from the

Alberta Government as a part of the Access

to the Future Fund. These dollars are

allocated as matching dollars, which means

that ACAD initiatives have raised that same

amount through the support of our

community.

The Access to the Future funding will allow

ACAD to increase support of academic

equipment, scholarships and bursaries,

visiting artists and scholars, our ACAD

intranet development, the renewal of our

faculty laptop initiative, our technology

infrastructure, staff development and

graduate program development.

We hope to see many other positive

developments in the near future as we move

quickly into an exciting new academic year.

Please visit our website regularly for

updates and news about our initiatives. ■

lance carlson,

President + CEO

he Alberta

College of

Art + Design is

pleased to an-

nounce that it has

been granted Na-

tional Association

of Schools of Art

and Design (NASAD) Substantial Equiva-

lency Status designation. ACAD is one of

two institutions outside the US to apply for

Substantial Equivalency Status, and the first

institution of higher education in Canada

to receive this distinction. By earning this

designation, ACAD is recognized by NASAD

as having met rigorous qualifications and

standards related to educational quality

and institutional integrity. For our students,

ACAD's NASAD Substantial Equivalency

Status will mean that our Bachelor of Fine

Arts and Bachelor of Design degrees, and

their individual class components, will be

recognized as equivalent in post second-

ary institutions throughout North America.

This important designation will ensure that

ACAD artists and designers will be able to

pursue graduate degrees internationally, and

will become a crucial factor in our own

imminent graduate program offering.

to join us in these evenings of stimulating

thought and discussion; our first event will

be on October 26, 2009 as we welcome

Heather Fraser of the Rotman School of

Business at the University of Toronto. More

information about this exciting program is

available on our website, please be sure to

check regularly for updates and announce-

ments throughout the year.

We are committed to helping contribute to

the dialogue in Calgary about arts and

culture and what it means, this is an ongoing

discussion in our lives and this ACAD

Stirring Culture series will be an important

contribution to that conversation. Through

Stirring Culture, ACAD is helping do more

than simply imagine new things: we are

working to make them concrete realities.

I am also very pleased to report that over

the summer months, ACAD was granted a

“Substantial Equivalency” designation from

the National Association of Schools of Art +

Design (NASAD) in the United States. ACAD

is one of only two institutions outside the US

to have been granted this important

designation, and the first Canadian institu-

tion to gain this important recognition. We

have been working hard for years to achieve

this designation, and we are very excited to

be able to offer NASAD equivalency for our

students and alumni. This recognition is a

major milestone in the history of our

institution, and acquiring this status will be

of enormous benefit to the school. Substan-

reetings from ACAD. As we move into

the beginning of our 2009-2010

academic year, we find that life on campus

is busier than ever.

I am especially enthusiastic about a new

season of programming beginning in

October, the third in our highly regarded

Stirring Culture presentation series. This

next season’s programming, titled Stirring

Culture 3: Women Innovators in Design will

be an exciting series of six lectures by some

of the most innovative and influential names

in design today. The women coming to

Calgary to join us as keynote speakers are

international talents, with unique perspec-

tives on the use of design as a tool for

transformation within our businesses, our

communities, and our daily lives. I invite you

G

Message from the President

CATALYST / Page 2

LeADerShIp

Photography

dwayne Norman

tial equivalency from NASAD means that

ACAD degrees will be recognized as

equivalent in post secondary institutions

throughout North America, opening doors

for our artists and designers to pursue

graduate work and research internationally.

Congratulations to all who worked so

collaboratively towards meeting this goal;

your dedication and hard work have made a

significant difference in the futures

of our graduates.

With regard to our college facilities,

there have been a number of

exciting developments regarding

funding for the work we are doing at

ACAD. The Government of Canada

has announced, with the Province of

Alberta, that ACAD will receive a combined

total of $1.7 million dollars in funding for

infrastructure improvements to the heating,

ventilation, and air conditioning systems in

our current College facility. Thanks to this

funding from both the Federal and Provin-

cial Governments, we are able to make the

infrastructure improvements that are so

important to our current College facility.

This work will help us create the best centre

for cultural development and studio based

post secondary education possible, and will

improve the spaces in which we work, teach

and learn at ACAD.

In addition to this major announcement,

ACAD continues to receive funding for the

important work we are doing through the

generosity of several agencies and funding

bodies. Among them this year is the Alberta

Foundation for the Arts (AFA), which has

granted ACAD a total of $60,000. These

funds will be applied to the Marion Nicoll

Gallery, the ArtaWEARness event, and the

ACAD’s Illingworth Kerr Gallery.

The National Association of Schools of Art

+ Design is an association of nearly 300

post-secondary level schools of art + design

throughout North America. In 1944, NASAD

was created "to improve educational practic-

es and maintain high professional standards

in art and design education", and it serves

as both an accrediting body, and a consult-

ing organization. It is the national accredit-

ing agency in the United States for art and

design education and art and design-related

disciplines.

In order to gain Substantial Equivalency,

ACAD engaged in an exhaustive multi-

year peer review study, which included a

self-study of all academic practices at the

College, as well as a site visit by NASAD

representatives. The granting of Substantial

Equivalency Status to our College indicates

NASAD's recognition of the quality of art and

design education ACAD offers to students,

and the importance of our role as a critical

centre for creativity within our community.

As ACAD Provost and Vice President for

Research and Academic Affairs,

Denise Mullen, shared; "Receiving this rec-

T

"...ThIS reCogNITIoN pLACeS

ACAD IN The CompANY oF

The moST INNovATIve AND

ForwArD ThINkINg INSTI-

TuTIoNS oF hIgher eDu-

CATIoN IN NorTh AmerICA

AND The FIeLD oF ArT AND

DeSIgN."ognition places ACAD in the company of the

most innovative and forward thinking institu-

tions of higher education in North America in

the field of art and design. Our current and

prospective students can be assured that the

education that they receive at ACAD will po-

sition them to be active contributors to their

chosen fields whatever career paths they

might choose in the future". ■

ACAD gains exciting NASAD membership

Through STIrrINg CuLTure,

ACAD IS heLpINg Do more ThAN

SImpLY ImAgINe New ThINgS: we

Are workINg To mAke Them

CoNCreTe reALITIeS.

Issue No. 2 / Page 3

on the world stage at the Cheongju International Craft biennial

Fall is a busy time for many

members of our ACAD faculty

as they prepare for the Cheongju

International Craft Biennial, a

showcase of international work in

craft. Celebrating its sixth anniver-

sary in 2009, the Cheongju Interna-

tional Craft Biennial is the largest

fine craft-based biennial in the world. Over 1000 artists

from more than 40 countries participate each year, with

over half a million visitors in attendance during the month-

long event. With a focus on high-quality functional and

sculptural craft, the Biennial attracts attention from

collectors, curators, academics, craftspeople and, of course,

the public. It is a terrific opportunity to showcase the talent

of Canadian craftspeople to the world. The theme for this

year's event is "Outside the Box" showcasing works that

re-establish connections between art, design, technology

and the environment. This year's guest pavilion features

Canada,and various cultural and indigenous artifacts and

crafts selected by the Canadian Crafts Federation will be on

display. Other events, such as the International Craft

Competition, International Craft Fair, symposiums and

educational programs, are being held on the sidelines of the

Biennial. Canada's provincial Craft Councils have coordi-

nated several projects including the National

Exhibition, Unity & Diversity, a retail oriented

"Canadian Boutique", and a cultural tour to

Korea for the Biennial, with artist demos and

more exciting projects to come.

More than 158 artists from 25 countries are

participating in the biennial, which runs from

Sept. 23 to Nov. 1 at the Cheongju Arts

Center and various locations around the

city. The Canadian national exhibition at the

Biennial has 207 pieces, with thirty-three of

these coming from Alberta, 29 from ACC

members and more that half from ACAD

faculty, technical staff and alumni. ■

S

ACAD FACuLTY bArbrA TIpToN, ShoNA rAe, greg pAYCe,

kATrINA ChAYTor, SArAbeTh CArNAT, JoAN IrvIN AND

TYLer roCk wILL be repreSeNTINg CANADA AT ThIS

INTerNATIoNAL eveNT

LeADerShIp

Written in part by

Jenna Stanton, AFA

ACAD gains exciting NASAD membership

1 Display space at the Cheongju

International Craft Biennial.

2 Greg payce, "Adam". 2008.

Porcelain, 23 inches. Photo by the artist.

his

year,

ACAD will

receive a

combined

total of $1.7

million dol-

lars in fund-

ing for infrastructure improvements

to the heating, ventilation, and air

conditioning (HVAC) systems in our

current College facility.

ACAD was awarded $850,000 from

the Government of Canada and

matching funds of $850,000 from

the Alberta Government totaling $1.7

million towards our infrastructure

needs to continue to support the

ability of the college to deliver ad-

vanced knowledge and skills training

in areas of design and new media.

This investment is part of the federal

government's two-year, $2-billion

plan to repair and expand research

and educational facilities at Canadian

colleges and universities. The pro-

gram is helping to provide economic

stimulus and promote employment

by creating jobs for engineers, archi-

tects, tradespeople and technicians.

It is also helping to generate the ad-

vanced technological infrastructure

needed to keep Canada's colleges

and universities at the forefront of

scientific advancement.

"At a time of economic uncertainty,

our government is making a strong

intervention to stimulate economic

activity through the Knowledge In-

frastructure Program," said Minister

Prentice. "This initiative to renew

Canada's college infrastructure will

provide a significant short-term

economic stimulus and put many

people to work in Calgary."

The Alberta College of Art + Design

would especially like to thank the

Honourable Jim Prentice, Minis-

ter of Environment and Minister

Responsible for Southern Alberta

for his support at the federal level,

and our own provincial Minister of

Advanced Education and Technol-

ogy Doug Horner. "Thanks to this

funding from both the Federal and

Provincial Governments, we are able

to make the infrastructure improve-

ments that are so important to

our current College facility", stated

Lance Carlson, President + CEO of

the Alberta College of Art + Design,

"This work will help us create the

best centre for cultural development

and studio based post secondary

education possible, and will improve

the spaces in which we work, teach

and learn here at ACAD." ■

ACAD to receive $1.7 million in infrastructure improvement funding

Welcome to our new-ly appointed members of the ACAD Board Of Governors.

CAD is delighted to welcome Ms. Cynthia

Moore, Mr. Darren Delichte, Ms. Roxanne

McCaig and Ms. Sue Anne Valentine to the ACAD

Board of Governors. All four of our newest board

members have been long-time supporters of

ACAD, and of Calgary’s creative communities.

“We look forward to a productive and exciting

year, and we welcome our new board members as they assist and guide us

in our important work” stated Lance Carlson.

All of the recently appointed board members bring a history of experience

working with arts and cultural organizations, as well as an important busi-

ness perspective to their new roles. Ms. Cynthia P. Moore, and Ms. Roxanne

McCaig's appointment to the board was effective as of July 17, 2009. Ms.

Sue Anne Valentine and Mr. Darren Delichte's appointment was effective as

of August 30, 2009. ■

LeADerShIp

A

CommuNITY

T

1

2

3

3 Minster Jim Prentice announces $1.7

in infrastructure funding for ACAD.

CATALYST / Page 4

e’ve recently made some

changes on campus to im-

prove how students are accessing

important student services, and

how they are experiencing life at

ACAD. Our newly revised ACAD

Student Experience department

includes Student Experience + Ad-

missions (located on the main mall), the Student Resource

Centre (located on the second floor), and the Student Life

Office (located on the second floor, beside the library).

With a focus on providing student services in an efficient

and effective manner, we’ve concentrated our energies

on providing individual, customized services to all of our

students, from their first day on campus to their first day of

their career.

Our new Student Experience + Admissions offices provide

centralized essential services that impact all students from

the day they apply to become an ACAD student, to their

first day as one of our prestigious alumni. This area central-

izes admissions, registration, student advising and career

services. Within this area, students are given the tools they

need to make informed decisions as they navigate their aca-

demic journey, and choose their career direction. Students

at ACAD will come here to access their student records, find

out about transcripts, academic regulations and convoca-

tion, learn more about applying to ACAD, and use resources

for registration, career planning and financial aid.

The ACAD Student Resource Centre (also known as the

SRC) is the first source for counseling and learning assis-

tance support services, allowing students to access support

programs that are individually tailored to address specific

needs and issues, with the goal of directly contributing to

each student’s success both academically and personally.

Students will be able to access counseling, learning as-

sistance, tutoring, study skills counseling, and international

student services.

Our newest area for student services is the ACAD Student

Life Office (SLO). Here, students will engage in co-curricular

experiences, and will be encouraged and recognized for

their outstanding community contributions. The SLO is the

home of the ACAD Student Success Series, which includes

sessions on enhancing their career, and their academic

and personal lives. Students will also be able to access the

peer-helper program, scholarship and awards information,

mobility + exchange resources, and special events such as

new student orientation, and Chalk Walk.

Drop by to any of our Student Experience areas to learn

more about how we are working to support our ACAD stu-

dent community, or visit us online at

acad.ca/current_students. ■

LIFe oN

CAmpuS

Photography

dwayne Norman

W

expanding Services For our Students

he Solar

Decathlon is

a high-profile, inter-

national competition

in which 20 selected

teams of university

and college students

from around the

globe compete to design, build and operate

the most attractive, practical and energy-ef-

ficient solar-powered home. ACAD students

Gerry Straathof and Jen Somerville will

represent ACAD at the 2009 Solar Abode

competition on the Main Mall

in Washington DC.

The Alberta Solar Decathlon team is

comprised of Calgary’s four leading post-

secondary schools including ACAD. The

team works closely with industry, govern-

ment and other partners in the broader com-

munity. This team is the first-ever all western

Canadian team to compete in the Solar

Decathlon, in 2009, and they are focusing

on leveraging their success, knowledge and

insights from the Solar Decathlon to become

champions for advancing solar technologies

and innovative housing solutions in Alberta

and beyond.

Be sure to watch as the house is set up on

the Mall in Washington DC by visiting the

SolAbode website at www.solabode.ca ■

ACAD students tackle sustainable design on the way to Washington

Join the ACAD commuter

challenge! This is a week-

long event to increase awareness

of environmentally sustainable

ways to commute to campus and

also showcase the many ways that

ACAD invests in our community.

Inspired by the National Commuter

Challenge Event that takes place across Canada in early

June, this event encourages students to walk, car-pool, bike

or take transit instead of driving alone to work.

Participants can sign up for the Commuter Challenge online

and “register” their daily commute. Prizes will be awarded

throughout the week based on lottery, and for the most

impressive length of commute. Prizes include an IPod, book-

store credits, and much much more!

We've been taking steps towards a greener campus through-

out the past year. ACAD now provides all students with a

Upass so that they can use transit for free, and we now have

a secure, well lit, bike storage area outside of the cafeteria. In

order to help students who do not drive to campus, ACAD

has also arranged for an elevator to be accessible from the

LRT platform for those students needing to transport mate-

rials. We have also recently installed a CarPool board in the

Main Mall for students, staff and faculty. ■

Going Green at ACAD

4 Construction at

the Team Alberta

Solar Abode.

Photo: solabode.

com.

5 Making progress

on framing.

Photo: solabode.

com.

6 ACAD's SRC Offices

7 ACAD students gather outside

the Art Hole, our campus coffee

shop, which is run by the ACAD

Students Association.

LIFe oN

CAmpuS

Photography:

Team Alberta

T

5

4

LIFe oN

CAmpuS

J

6

7

Issue No. 2 / Page 5

This Fall at the Ikgthis fall the iKG launches a series of exhibitions, events and talks that explore the issues associated with the idea of the North and related ideas of the west. owing primar-ily to issues of climate change, sovereignty and the alberta oil sands, the North and canadian west suddenly seem so much more familiar and tangible to the average citizen living south of the arctic circle. the North is no longer a distant unreality. the west is an economic powerhouse.

f this shift in

the mind set

of millions of peo-

ple continues, how

are ‘we’ collectively

viewing the North

and the West? In an

attempt to unravel

the imaginary tropes these regions, the Il-

lingworth Kerr Gallery proposes to critically

reflect on the impact of change. Themes

include interior and exterior psychological

space, race and class, the industrialization

of farms and the food chain, natural and

artificial light, the landscape re-envisioned

and related socio-economic issues.

The first two exhibitions feature media in-

stallations by Glenn Ligon and John Gerrard.

Ligon addresses issues of race, class and

a unique orientation to the West with two

projects. The first, entitled Death of Tom,

was co-produced by the IKG with the sup-

port of ACAD students including Ian Ward,

Sarah Malik and Mikhel Proulx.

In 1903, Edwin S. Porter directed a fourteen-

minute silent film version of Uncle Tom's

Cabin for Thomas Edison's film studio.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's five-hundred-page

novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the

bestselling books of the mid-nineteenth

century, spawning dozens of “Tom Shows”

– travelling stage adaptations and musicals

with white actors in blackface – that were

seen by millions. Viewers of the period

would have had a broad familiarity with the

book and understood the plight of slaves

escaping along routes to the North and the

truncated film adaptation.

In his video installation Death of Tom, New

York-based artist Glenn Ligon focuses on

the last scene of the Porter-Edison film,

which depicts the death of Tom, the slave

whose tragic story drives the narrative.

Shooting on black-and-white 16mm film,

Ligon sought to recreate the look of the

Porter-Edison production. However, after

the film was developed, he discovered it

was a grey blur interrupted with out of

focus text and abstract figures in motion.

Intrigued by this virtual disappearance of

the image – the subject of his own artistic

production in other media over the last de-

cade and a half – Ligon decided to use the

“ruined” film. Projected on a single screen,

the resulting DVD focuses on the mechanics

of the (re)making of the original production

and the failure of representation.

gLeNN LIgoN:

DeATh oF Tom AND uNTITLeD (mINNeSoTA mASSACre)

JohN gerrArD:

grow FINISh uNIT AND oIL STICk work

oCTober 9 – DeCember 12, 2009

opeNINg reCepTIoN

5:00 – 7:00 pm | oCTober 9, 2009

JASoN morAN IN CoNCerT

6:30 pm, STANForD perroTT LeCTure hALL

oCTober 8, 2009

ArTISTS TALk: gLeNN LIgoN AND JohN gerrArD

7:30 pm | STANForD perroTT LeCTure hALL

hoSTeD bY ArT AND DeSIgN Now

Renowned jazz pianist Jason Moran com-

posed the original score for Death of Tom

based on the vaudeville song “Nobody”. Mo-

ran will perform his composition live in the

Stanford Perrott Lecture Hall on the opening

night of the exhibition.

Ligon’s latest piece, Untitled (Minnesota

Massacre), addresses a set of 42 painted

reportage panels from the late 19th century,

depicting scenes from the infamous 1862

uprising by the Sioux nation. In their original

form – a long, panoramic canvas mounted

on rollers – was used as a ‘moving picture

entertainment’ to stir up both sympathy and

animosity after the massacre and displace-

ment of white settlers by ‘hostile’ Sioux.

In Gallery 2, Irish artist John Gerrard

presents two media works. The first, Grow

Finish Unit (near Elkhart, Kansas) 2008, is

a detailed virtual representation of a pig

production facility that could easily exist in

Canada’s prairie provinces. Its appearance

documents a functional agricultural reality

that reduces the relationship between farm-

er and farmed to a purely technical, almost

contactless process. A viewer-controlled

camera permits oversight by the work's

audience. Circling the scene at their com-

mand, it unflinchingly surveys a vast lake of

excrement sparkling in the sun while squat,

computer-controlled silos relentlessly pump

nitrogen-derived corn feed. The ‘Finish’ of

the title is represented by a 6-8 month orbit

of exchange in the work – a fleet of trucks

arrive at some designed but unscripted

point to silently remove and replace the

occupants while simultaneously depositing

new piglets into the grow cycle.

The second work in the show, Oil Stick

Work (Angelo Martinez/Richfield, Kansas),

features a time-based virtual representa-

tion of a Mexican worker drawing on an oil

tank until it is virtually obliterated against a

prairie landscape. ■

ILLINgworTh

kerr

gALLerY

Story by

Wane Baerwaldt

I

11 Glenn ligon. Death of Tom

Still image from 16mm film transferred to

digital video. 2008

12 John Gerrard. Oil Stick Work (Angelo

Martinez/Richfield, Kansas)

3D real-time projection. 2008.

11

12

CATALYST / Page 6

CAD faculty

Adam Tindale,

and Alan Dunning

have recently been

granted funding by

the Alberta Asso-

ciation of Colleges

and Technical Insti-

tutes (AACTI) for their innovative research

work titled CIRO (Complex Input, Rational

Output).

CIRO is initiated by the Center for Innova-

tion in Art + Technology and, according to

Adam Tindale in a report to AACTI funders,

“is a proposed technology-based research

and development project that will prototype

he ACAD

Ceramics Pro-

gram will host the

annual 1000 Miles

Apart conference

October 1st, 2nd and

3rd. This conference

was first organized

in 1989 by faculty and students from the

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg and Red

Deer College, Alberta. The distance between

the institutions was the origin of the name

1000 Miles Apart. Participating institutions

later included the University of Regina and

Alberta College of Art + Design. Each year

the conference is organized collectively

and rotates to a new host institution for

that year. It provides an excellent opportu-

nity for students and faculty to meet and

network, and creates a valuable forum to

develop and strengthen the ceramics com-

munity in Western Canada. Members of the

public, along with University of Regina, Red

Deer College, and University of Manitoba,

students and faculty from nearby Ceram-

ics Programs are also invited to attend the

conference events.

The conference presents a series of exhibi-

tions, artists’ demonstrations, and presenta-

tions to facilitate exchange and dialogue.

This year the guest artists will include Sam

software and multi-touch screen hardware

for performance, visualization, exhibition

and professional use. CIRO will explore ways

to capture multiple data inputs (either hu-

man or computer) and complex datasets to

analyze and interpret them, and to output

them as useful, intuitive visualizations and/

or audio interpretations. The final outcomes

will be relevant for musical performance,

medical visualization, and a host of human/

computer interactions”. CIRO will build

upon the research work by both Alan Dun-

ning and Adam Tindale, and will focus on a

series of deliverable results to “spur further

inquiry and artistic expression”.

CIRO will provide a common platform for

and build upon the research by both Alan

Dunning and Adam Tindale.

AACTI has also provided $20,000 to ACAD

for faculty mentored student innovation

projects, intended to encourage students,

under the guidance of faculty members, to

meaningfully address a practical problem

of interest to an entity or end users outside

of the member institution. The work funded

should highlight meaningful engagements

by our students under the direction of

faculty. ■

Work by Adam Tindale, Alan Dunning and

Kurtis Lesick has also been recognized and

funded by the Marion Fund for Innovation,

and the ACAD Faculty Professional Affairs

Committee.

ACAD Faculty research recognized by AACTI

AreSeArCh

INNovATIoN

Photography

dwayne Norman

Links

Adam Tindalewww.adamtindale.com/research.html

Previous research by Alan Dunningwww.acad.ab.ca/completed_research_

projects.html

ACAD Faculty Research www.acad.ab.ca/ research_institutes.html

9 ACAD Media Arts + Digital

Technology classes at work.

Chung, Andy Brayman, Emily Schroeder

and keynote speaker Robin Lambert.

Robin Lambert completed his BFA at the

Alberta College of Art + Design and an MFA

from the University of Regina, receiving nu-

merous awards along the way, including the

Social Sciences and Humanities Research

Council Award for Graduate Students. Lam-

bert's practice bridges ceramic theory, in-

stallation, performance and social practice.

Emily Schroeder is the Ceramics Visiting

Artist/Instructor at ACAD. Emily received a

BFA in Studio Arts, Ceramics in 2000 from

the University of Minnesota and completed

her MFA in 2006 at the University of Colo-

rado, Boulder, CO. Human presence and the

mark of the hand are important elements

of Emily’s work, which steps back to a time

where work isn't about production, but the

touch of a fingertip.

Sam Chung is an Assistant Professor of Ce-

ramics at Arizona State University, Tempe.

Chung received a Bachelor of Arts Degree

with a concentration in Ceramics from St.

Olaf College, Minnesota in 1992. He com-

pleted Special Post-Baccalaureate Studies

in Ceramics at the University of Minnesota,

followed by an M.F.A. in 1997 at Arizona

State University. His hand built ceramic

1000 Miles Apart ACAD hoSTS Three DAY CoNFereNCe

ThIS oCTober

TreSeArCh

INNovATIoN

Story

Katrina Chaytor

vessels grapple with the balance between

form and function, as Chung is interested in

a pot’s unique ability to serve a multitude of

roles and functions.

Andy Brayman holds a BA in Sociology and

a BFA in Ceramics from the University of

Kansas and an MFA in ceramics from Alfred

University. His work is a combination of

traditional craft, industrial processes, and

contemporary art strategies. His pots dem-

onstrate an object’s potential to be both

beautiful and cerebral.

The annual Students/Faculty exhibition,

the highlight of the conference, will be held

in ACAD’s Gallery 371. A show and silent

auction of miniature works will be featured

in the Marion Nicholl Gallery on campus and

the Main Mall at ACAD will highlight alumni

work in the The Faculty Collects II exhibition.

Additional events throughout the confer-

ence will include program presentations

by students and faculty from the visiting

institutions and several social activities.

1000 Miles Apart promises to be an infor-

mative and inspiring conference and the

students and faculty at ACAD look forward

to welcoming our colleagues and friends to

Calgary. ■

9

10 robin lambert. Service: Dinner for

Strangers (potluck in progress at Bilton

Contemporary Art, Red Deer), 2009.

10

Issue No. 2 / Page 7

+ Christina Arthur-Dick (Director, Special Projects + Artist

Programs)

+ Brenda Baber (Student Operations-Business Manager)

+ Jennifer Bassett (moved from temporary to permanent

Student Resource Coordinator)

+John Calvelli (Permanent faculty Design Theory + History –

Liberal Studies)

+ Heather Cummings (Director, Student Experience)

+ Miruna Dragan (Permanent faculty – Drawing)

+ Chris Frey (moved from sessional to permanent faculty –

English –Liberal Studies)

+ Patti Knott (Administrative Assistant – Student Experience

+ Admissions)

+ Denise Mullen (Provost + Vice-President Research + Aca-

demic Affairs)

+ Jesse Sherburne (permanent faculty –First Year Studies-

Design)

+ Jordan Tate (permanent faculty – Photography)

+ Justin Waddell (moved from sessional to permanent fac-

ulty – Photography)

+ Linda Wyatt (Director, Financial Operations)

+ Emily Schroeder (Visiting Artist Ceramics)

+ Shane Smith (Executive Director of College Advancement)

ACAD welcomes Emily

Schroeder as the Ceramics

Visiting Artist/Instructor for

the 2009/10

academic year. This position

has been an integral part of

the Ceramics program for

over 20 years and it is the

first position to be funded

under the new ACAD Raw-

linson Visiting Faculty Pro-

gram. This has been made

possible by the generous

donation of the Jill Rawlin-

son Fund to ACAD.

Emily received a BFA in

Studio Arts, Ceramics in

2000 from the University of

Minnesota and completed

her MFA in 2006 at the Uni-

versity of Colorado, Boulder,

CO. As Emily describes,

ACAD Welcomes Ceramics Visiting Artist Instructor

“Throughout the history of

my work I have also been

interested in the notion

of loss of self. I want my

objects to operate as props

helping to create a loss of

self through the use of my

vessels between people.”

Emily will present her prac-

tice in a demo and lecture

format this fall as a part of

the annual 1000 Miles Apart

Conference, hosted by

ACAD Ceramics. In addition,

the Ceramic Visiting Artist/

Instructor has an exhibi-

tion towards the end of the

winter semester.

Welcome to new faculty, staff and administration members

profiling:ACAD Faculty

ordaN, what

doeS your

curreNt perSoNal

practice looK liKe?

My work is cur-

rently in a state of

massive flux, both

in methodology

and aesthetics. Fortunately, the concep-

tual basis of my work, and my long-term

meta-photographic interests, has provided

some semblance of continuity. I am

intrigued by the conceptual weight that

images carry with them as objects rather

than representations.

Currently, I'm working on adjusting to

Calgary, settling back in to an academic

schedule, and maintaining an active studio

practice.

what are you teachiNG here

at acad thiS Fall?

This is my first year as a

faculty member at ACAD,

and I'll be teaching Intro to

Photography, Design

Fundamentals and Special-

ization in Photography this term.

what brouGht you to acad aS a New Faculty

member?

The culture of the school as a whole was a

draw for me, as was the ability to make my

mark on a dynamic and engaging photog-

raphy program.

JFACuLTY

proFILe

Photography

Jordan tate

you've built a career aS both a practiciNG artiSt, aNd

academic. what would you Say iS the moSt importaNt

elemeNt oF what you briNG From both worldS to your

StudeNtS?

I want to bring the full knowledge of possibility and

interdisciplinary thought to ACAD. I want my students to

have the freedom to approach a problem, assignment,

idea, question, etc. from any direction they choose

regardless of the structure of the course. When one

focuses on how to think and how to learn rather than the

acquisition of knowledge or skill, it allows them to adapt,

engage, and learn in a flexible, repeatable way.

what iS your academic bacKGrouNd? did you atteNd aN art

School liKe acad, or eveN acad itSelF?

I have a Bachelor of Philosophy in

Interdisciplinary Studies, a MFA in

Photography, and was a Fulbright

Fellow. My undergraduate work was

in a dynamic, challenging program

that encouraged learning new

methods of thinking over the

acquisition of knowledge, which has

been infinitely valuable throughout

the course of my career.

what would you tell a proSpective

StudeNt coNSideriNG acad?

Nurture your desire to dynamically

engage in your own education, and

keep an open mind. If you lack this

desire, get it, fast. ■

11 Jordan tate. Photography

12 Jordan tate. Photography

13 Jordan tate. Photography

I wANT To brINg The FuLL

kNowLeDge oF poSSIbILITY AND

INTerDISCIpLINArY ThoughT To

ACAD.

This May, ACAD students

donated more than $3,000

of new and gently used

art supplies to Arts Can,

an organization that sup-

ports artists who are new

to Canada, here in Calgary.

Students cleaned out their

lockers of new and gently

used materials, and brought

them down to the bookstore

for donation, and through

their generosity, new Cana-

dians will be able to further

their practice as artists. This

initiative is supported by the

ACAD Diversity Advisory

Committee, and the Book

store team, and was initiated

by Bonnie Murdoch, Director

of Extended Studies here

at ACAD. Arts Can: The

Resource for Artists new to

Canada, is being developed

by the City of Calgary in

partnership with the Depart-

ment of Canadian Heritage

in order to provide artists

who are new to Canada with

the skills and resources they

need in order to effectively

continue their work here in

Canada.

ACAD Students support immigrant and refugee artists

12

11

13

ACAD in ActionACCompLIShmeNTS + ACCoLADeS For our STuDeNTS, ALumNI, STAFF AND FACuLTY

CATALYST / Page 8

ACAD Fibre alumni wins Royal Canadian

Academy of Arts Nienkamper Scholarship

Samantha Reed, a 2009 ACAD Fibre gradu-

ate, has been awarded the Royal Canadian

Academy of Arts Nienkamper Scholarship,

in recognition of artistic excellence during

her undergraduate studies at ACAD and in

support of advanced study. Ms. Reed has

been accepted into the Master’s of Design -

Textiles as Fashion Program at the Glasgow

School of Art in Glasgow Scotland. She will

be beginning her studies in Sept. 2009. This

award, valued at $5000 is made possible by

the generous financial support of furniture

magnate Klaus Nienkamper to provide

significant further educational opportunities

or to give assistance towards their devel-

opment as professional practitioners for

students graduating from an undergradu-

ate program at a Canadian post-secondary

institution.

ACAD Alumni Win Lieutenant Governor

Awards

Two of our ACAD alumni, Robin Arsenault

and Chad Van Gaalen, are recipients of

the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts

Foundation's Emerging Artists Awards. Each

winner receives a cheque for $10,000, with

no stipulations as to how they can spend it.

The awards come as a result of the Alberta

Arts Foundation's desire to create awards

that support developing artists, in addition

to the distinguished artists awards they initi-

ated in 2005.

Solo Exhibition:

Mackenzie Frere – Recollect

June 24 – June 27, 2009

Mackenzie’s work "Recollect" will be fea-

tured in "Lieux de Mémoire" an exhibition

curated by Denis Longchamps that was

part of the Biennial international du Lin in

Deschambault-Grondines, Québec, June 24

to September 27, 2009.

ACAD Fibre Head published Internation-

ally.

Head of the ACAD Fibre department, Laura

Vickerson, is featured in Art Textiles of the

World, a volume published in England, and

focusing on Canadian artists.

ACAD students featured in Alberta Craft

Council Show

Three of ACAD’s 4th year Jewellery + Metal,

and Glass students were featured in the

Alberta Craft Council Show, which ran from

April 25 to June 6, 2009. Michelle Sparks,

Melanie Long and Jen Somerville were all

selected to participate in this prestigious

exhibit.

Andy Yang named as Alberta winner of

the 2009 BMO Financial Group’s 1st Art!

Invitational Student Art Competition.

Congratulations to Andy Yang, a 4th year

MADT student, who has been selected as

the Alberta winner of the BMO Financial

Group’s 1st Art! Invitational Student Art

Competition. Andy’s piece "Thrill Seeking"

will be a part of a cross-Canada traveling

exhibition, as well as appearing in the Fall

issue of Canadian Art magazine.

National Gallery of Canada acquires piece

created at ACAD’s IKG

The National Gallery of Canada has recently

acquired the 13ft-long drawing produced in

the IKG by Shuvinai Ashoona (Cape Dorset)

and John Noestheden (Regina), marking

the first art collaboration by an Inuit and

non-Inuit artist ever. Do you rember this

event? Visit acad.ab.ca/wh_2008_02_ikg_

sa_jn.html to read about the artists, and how

this piece was created.

Group Exhibition:

BIG NEWS at Influx Jewellery Gallery

July 2 – August 15, 2009

Featuring ACAD alumni Kim Johansen, Me-

lissa Pedersen, Andrea Blais, Gillian Hillerud,

Danielle Crampsie and Alisha Boyd. Influx

Jewellery Gallery, 2nd Level, Art Central,

Calgary

Solo Exhibition:

Alex Moon — Uni-Farm: Boardroom

Forefathers

June 30th - July 31st, 2009

Opening reception and performance July

3rd, 6:30 - 8:30 PM with a repeat perfor-

mance on July 17th, 2009.

Alberta Printmakers Society, Calgary

ACAD Staff member wins award at West-

ern Canadian Regional Model Contest.

Congratulations to Bill Miles, Manager of

Systems and Data (C+TS) for his recent

award at the Western Canadian Regional

Model Contest. Bill took home the award

for Best Animation or Sci-Fi Subject for

his work “the Music Recital”. The Western

Canadian Regional Model Contest is one

of the premier modeling events in Western

Canada, with over 600 models entered into

93 categories.

Solo Exhibition:

Mark Mullen — Fictitious Device

Until October 10, 2009

The Paul Kuhn Gallery is pleased to present

an exhibition of new works by ACAD Fac-

ulty member, Mark Mullin. This is Mr. Mullin's

third exhibition at the gallery comprised of

both paintings and drawings. The exhibition

continues through October 10, 2009.

ACAD Faculty starts online gallery.

Mariko Paterson and business partner Cath-

erine Hein have started up an online gallery

called “Box Social”. Mariko states: “Based in

Calgary, with eyes on the world, we on the

organizing end, are either practicing artists

and/or long time fans of finely designed and

crafted objects of the eclectic persuasion.

While our love for the unusual knows no real

boundaries, we are particularly proud of the

contributions recently made to the art and

design world by Canada, Wonderland to

the North”. Visit www.boxsocial.ca for more

information.

ACAD Faculty to be featured in Cultural

Olympiad

Greg Payce’s work will also be included

as part of the 2010 Crafts Exhibition that

will tour for two years, beginning with the

Cultural Olympiad taking place during 2010

Olympic Games, and running from Janu-

ary 13th to April 17th, 2010 at the Museum

of Vancouver, BC. Greg’s lenticular photo-

graphs and video work will also be included

in the main exhibition of the Cheonju Bien-

nial entitled "Dissolving Views".

ACAD Faculty member Chris Willard

reaches best seller list.

Congratulations to Chris Willard, who’s novel

Sundre has topped the Kensignton Best-

seller list.

Assistant Dean of undergraduate studies

takes visiting artist position in Rome.

This summer, Laurel Johannesson (Assistant

Dean) was invited to be a Visiting Artist +

Scholar at the American Academy in Rome

for June and July. The American Academy

in Rome is one of the leading American

overseas centers for independent studies

and advanced research in the fine arts and

Issue No. 2 / Page 9

humanities. It is a place where extraordinary

moments have brought creative talents

together in unexpected ways. Each year,

artists and scholars are chosen by juries of

experts in archaeology, architecture, classi-

cal studies, design arts, historic preservation

and conservation, history of art, landscape

architecture, literature, modern Italian stud-

ies, musical composition, post-classical

humanities studies, and visual arts.

Calgary artist, writer and ACAD faculty

returns from deployment with

Canadian troops in the Middle East.

ACAD Faculty Dick Averns has returned

from participation as only one of five artists

appointed nationwide by National Defence

Canada to participate in the 2008-2009

Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP).

Mr. Averns was involved with working with

peacekeepers overseeing the Israeli Egyp-

tian Peace Treaty, and was positioned in

the desert border region of northern Sinai,

near Gaza, at the Multinational Force and

Observers North Camp. New work based on

this experience will be shown at a solo show

at the Military Museums in the fall of 2010.

Dick is also currently exhibiting in a solo

show at the Vernon Public Art Gallery. He is

currently working on a work of non-fiction,

and a photo essay engaging with Canada’s

role in peacekeeping and truce monitoring

in the Middle East.

Congratulations to melinda topilko, win-

ner of the Canada Millenium Excellence

Award

Third year Photo major melinda topilko

has won the Canada Millennium Excellence

Award, worth $12,500. The millennium

excellence awards seek to recognize the

leaders of today and tomorrow and em-

phasize the importance of supporting their

contributions to our country's future. Millen-

nium excellence awards are not prizes for

benchmarks achieved - they are investments

in the development of exceptional individu-

als who will have long, productive careers

and whose accomplishments will benefit

Canada as a whole. Our congratulations go

to Melinda, who is currently on a mobility +

exchange semester in Memphis, Tennessee.

ACAD Drawing Faculty Member receives

top honors at the International Biennial

Contemporaine

ACAD artist and faculty member Derek

Michael Besant has been awarded the Grand

Prix of the 6th International Biennial Con-

temporaine presented by Montreal Editor

and Chief of Vie Des Arts, Monsieur Bernard

Levy, in Québec during the Cultural Capital

City in Canada 2009 event and 375th An-

niversary of the city of Trois-Rivières. The

international exhibition was held at four

museum venues in Trois-Rivières, ran until

September 2009, and was expected to draw

10,000 people. 300 works by 52 artists

from 23 countries were selected for inclu-

sion in the biennial. Besant’s series is titled

FALLING and is part of Besant’s ongoing

research into underlying human themes pro-

duced through advanced industrial hybrid

technologies of image and sound.

Besant will have additional opportunities to

explore his themes publicly with an invita-

tion from the Danish Arts Council to install

26 large-scale images in October for the

International Kultursametbejdet Art Installa-

tion Project across seven cities in Denmark

from August through October 2009, and

will preview “a collaborative image and

sound project” with Texas-based music

composer, Paul Connolly titled: NAVIGATOR

as part of the Creativity & Cognition exhibi-

tion at The Berkeley Art Museum, University

of California, USA in November 2009.

Jewellery + Metals Alumni wins City of

Calgary World Skills competition

David Bynoe, ACAD Alumni, Jewellery +

Metals (2006) is the City of Calgary fea-

tured artist at World Skills 2009, and will

be showing his practice at the Stampede

grounds over the course of the four day

competition (September 2nd-4th). David

will be setting a tent up as his studio, and

will be creating a kinetic sculpture commis-

sioned by the City of Calgary. The sculp-

ture will be a set of wooden wings, which

will collapse and open up to triple in size

through a series of levers. This project will

give the public an opportunity to witness

and experience the creation of an artwork,

and David will be doing a series of live

demos in carving, splitting, steam bending,

and other traditional carpentry skills. The

emphasis is to demonstrate the application

of craft skills in artistic practice; skills he

acquired at ACAD.

Glass artist creates award for Rexall Ed-

monton Indy

Congratulations to ACAD Glass techni-

cian Mark Gibeau on his work creating the

trophies for winners of the Rexall Edmon-

ton Indy. Mark’s work was presented to the

winners of the car race, held on July 24 -26,

2009.

ACAD Alumni appointed City of Calgary

Superintendent

Rachael Seupersad, Alumni of ACAD’s

ceramics department, has recently been

appointed as Superintendent of Public Art

for the City of Calgary. Rachael has been

acting in this role since November 2008 and

has proven herself to be an invaluable asset

in overseeing, promoting and programming

the Public Art Collection held in trust for the

citizens of Calgary.

Photography faculty member featured in

Vague Paper

Jordan Tate, new faculty member in our

Photography department, has recently been

featured in the Summer 2009 of Vague

Paper, a satirical fashion magazine based in

London England. Works from his “Frame-

work” series are featured in Issue #6 (Smile

Love, It Might Never Happen).

Congratulations to Lynda Wyatt.

Congratulations to Lynda Wyatt, Director of

Financial Operations. Lynda has successfully

completed the final examinations required

to seek the designation of Certified Manage-

ment Accountant.

ACAD Faculty nominated for short film

awards

Kevin D.A. Kurytnik, faculty in ACAD’s VCD

department, has recently been nominated

for his short film, Intergalactic Who’s Who.

This film has been nominated for the Cal-

gary International Film Festival “Best of Al-

berta” Award, and the Ottawa International

Animation Festival Canadian Showcase.

n Sunday, July 24 2009, a review of Annie Pootoogook's

work at the George Gustav Heye Centre, National Museum

of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institute ran in

the New York Times. This show was originally curated by Nancy

Campbell for ACAD's Illingworth Kerr Gallery. Read more about

the wonderful reception this IKG production is receiving interna-

tionally at nytimes.com/2009/07/24/arts/design/24annie.html. ■

IKG exhibition reviewed by the New York Times

14 Artist Annie Pootoogook at the

Illingworth Kerr Gallery

15 A crowd gathers at the Annie Poot-

oogook artist talk, hosted by the IKG.

CuLTurAL

LeADerShIp

Photography

courtesy of the iKG

O

14

15

alberta colleGe o F a rt + deS i G N

through acad’s extended Studies you can study visual art, media arts, and design through a full year schedule of challenging and creative courses, workshops and special events designed to meet your creative learning goals.

extended Studies

each semester, extended studies offers: + adult credit courses + adult credit-free courses + adult evening + weekend personal interest courses+ youth weekend courses

For more information, contact: extendedstudies@acad.ca 403.284.7640

profiling: ACAD Student

eliNda, what

are you cur-

reNtly worKiNG oN?

Using whatever

media will best

express my con-

ceptual intent, I

consider myself an

interdisciplinary artist and work in both two

and three dimensional media, as well as

with sound and video. My practice is a con-

sidered one - I think about every element

in my work, and how it may influence the

viewer. I always begin with research - this

has led to my recent exploration of femi-

nism on a theoretical and academic level. I

am interested especially in the relationship

between feminism and visual culture.

I am currently participating in a Mobility

semester at the Memphis College of Art in

Tennessee. The opportunity to live, work

and study in a place not my own - both in-

tellectual and physically is exciting and will

have a significant impact on my practice.

As a founding member of Contextural: a

fibre arts cooperative, I have been able to

participate in the planning and coordinat-

ing of two successful summer residencies

and exhibitions. Winning the Millennium

Scholarship was an honor and it was satis-

fying to have my efforts recognized in such

a substantial way.

what brouGht you to acad aS a FirSt year

StudeNt?

When deciding on an art school, I knew I

wanted a Bachelor’s degree from an arts

dedicated institution. The facilities at ACAD

are great, and the instructors have active

and relevant practices. The range of course

offerings was also a big plus.

STuDeNT

proFILe

Artwork

melinda topilko

m

I still have almost two years left in my

undergraduate degree (class of 2011). When

I get back from my mobility + exchange

semester, I will be getting involved in more

committee work, preparing and presenting

programming for the FBC, and hopefully

having a show at the MNG with work from

my semester away.

you’ve beeN very iNvolved aS a StudeNt aNd

aS aN artiSt duriNG your time oN campuS.

what StaNdS out For you about your experi-

eNce aS aN acad StudeNt So Far?

The classes I have taken have included spe-

cific and relevant information about how

to prepare professional documents, both

written and visual. The SRC seminars about

mobility, funding opportunities,

life management skill have also

been invaluable. The opportunity

to participate in committee work,

juries, hiring panels, academic

council, has given me insight in

to many aspects of professional

practice.

aNy advice For StudeNtS coNSid-

eriNG a bdeS or bFa deGree at

acad Next year?

Be ready to work, and work hard. ACAD

has much to offer, but you need to take

responsibility for your own education.

It’s ok to not have everything figured out

before your first (even second) year is over.

You need to make sure you are doing what

inspires you.

aNd what would you tell their pareNtS,

comiNG From your perSpective aS a StudeNt

Now?

It is a rigorous and demanding program,

and one that requires full engagement on

the part of the student. Art school is not

about finding a job, but developing a prac-

tice that supports you not only financially,

but intellectually and creatively. Careers in

the arts might not be as obvious, but they

are there and they are unlike any other.

what do you thiNK you will taKe away From

your time aS a StudeNt here?

I would not the be the person I am today,

and the artist I am becoming without the

instruction and guidance of not only the

instructors at ACAD, but also the non-ac-

ademic staff. I hope that through my prac-

tice, I will make work that has an impact,

that is important and leaves a mark. ■

LeArNINg From INSTruCTorS

ThAT Are NoT oNLY CommITTeD

eDuCATorS, buT ArTISTS wITh

ACTIve CAreerS hAS ShowN me

ThAT IT IS poSSIbLe To hAve A

LIFe ToTALLY FoCuSSeD oN The

ArTS.

CATALYST / Page 10

16 melinda topilko. "Untitled (black &

white & red all over)", Photograph, 8 x

10 inches, 2009

17 melinda topilko. "Untitled (family

portrait)", Photograph, 8x10 inches,

2009.

18 melinda topilko. "Untitled (lisa

leaves)", Photograph, 8x10 inches,

2009.

current student

melinda topilko on her

experiences at acad,

and beyond.

SupporT ACAD

Yes, I wish to support ACAD.

Please find enclosed my donation for:

Please direct my donation to:

Scholarships and Bursaries

Institute for the Creative Process

Area of greatest need

Please contact me about:

Sponsorship opportunities

Special events at ACAD

Please keep my donation anonymous

Thank you for supporting ACAD!

Name

Address

City

Province / State Postal Code

Country

Email address

Phone

Please accept my donation by:

Cheque (payable to Alberta College of Art + Design)

Visa Mastercard

Card Number Expiry Date

Signature

Name on Card

Please forward this form with payment to:

Alberta College of Art + Design

c/o Shane Smith, Director of Advancement and Alumni

1407 – 14 Avenue N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2N 4R3

Or contact ACAD at 403. 284.7690Charitable BN # 10669-2981-RR0001. A charitable tax receipt will be mailed to

you. Unless a request has been made otherwise, ACAD will recognize your donation

through donor recognition listings.

✁

17

16

18

Calling all ACAD Alumni.

laudiNa,

could you

deScribe your

curreNt practice?

I am a multi-disci-

plinary artist and

my work continues

to address issues

related to society, culture, health, and

nature. Text and image have become major

components to my craft, as is the relation

to observed space for installations, just as

sound and movement are to performances.

These days, I am training in dance again

and returning to performance. I am working

on a new body of work examining the

relationship between mental health and

social misconceptions, and as an indepen-

dent curator — looking for opportunities to

get involved in the community.

you are aN acad alumNi (2003), aNd your

worK haS taKeN you literally arouNd the

world. how did that JourNey beGiN?

The first major accomplishment since my

time at ACAD was completing my Masters

degree in Cultural Management in Madrid.

profiling: ACAD Alumni

ALumNI

proFILe

Photography

claudina morgado

C

The program is very competitive and

recognized internationally for its broad

focus on all aspects of managing the arts

and culture. Due to the nature of my

program, I was able to intern with the

Cervantes Institute, the Spanish Govern-

ment's language and cultural institution

that represents all the Spanish-speaking

countries of the world.

I successfully helped launch a new Cer-

vantes Institute in Tokyo, the first in Japan

where I programmed exhibitions, confer-

ences, symposiums, congresses, artist

workshops, book launches, concerts, dance

performances, film festivals and much

more. I was able to put my design skills to

work creating marketing materials and

publications of the events I coordinated,

including bilingual catalogues. My work

there culminated in organizing a week of

artistic activities for the official inaugura-

tion of the Centre with the presence of His

Majesty, the King of Spain.

As a representative of Cervantes, I was

fortunate to participate on projects under

the Press, Public and Cultural Affairs

section of the Delegation of the European

Commission to Japan, allowing me to see

first hand how arts and culture can be used

as communication and business methods,

and as a means to establish and strengthen

international relations. It allowed me to

network with the artistic community in not

only Asia, but Europe and Hispanic

America as well; it also provided the

opportunity to work with embassies,

universities, and organizations such as the

United Nations High Commission for

Refugees.

As an artist, I have been able to show both

my visual and performance work abroad,

gaining respect and recognition from my

peers.

what brouGht you to acad aS aN uNder-

Graduate StudeNt?

I chose to attend ACAD to gain technical

skill and pursue an education in the visual

arts. ACAD taught me to be disciplined and

organized, and to be able to defend my

position under criticism and scrutiny. I

strongly believe that my creative and

technical skills were greatly enhanced by

my experience at ACAD, and the ongoing

support provided by faculty members has

been priceless.

you have had a FaSciNatiNG career iN the

artS to date. what leSSoNS did you taKe

with you From your time at acad?

The professionalism and time commitment

that was expected from us as students at

ACAD continues to impact my daily work

and any project I execute. This led to the

successful execution of countless events in

Japan, boosting audience awareness and

interest in the arts in a foreign market, and

creating pilot programs for other centres.

aNd what would you tell the

FamilieS or pareNtS oF

iNcomiNG StudeNtS aS they

prepare to atteNd acad?

Attending an art institution for

post-secondary education can

be even more fulfilling than

“traditional” careers, particu-

larly with the increased

interaction with the instruc-

tors. It promotes critical thinking and a

strong work ethic. ■

TrY everYThINg AND ANYThINg,

You woN'T uNDerSTAND FuLLY

uNTIL You Do. AND IF You geT A

ChANCe To Do AN exChANge, IT

wILL gIve You A greATer per-

SpeCTIve oN Your work AND LIFe

IN geNerAL.

19 claudina morgado. Corberó Exhibition

Detail of hanging sculpture. 2008

20 claudina morgado. "Stacked Bowls Both

Views". 2008

21 claudina morgado. Quino Exhibition

View from gallery entrance. 2008.

Links

Cervantes Institutewww.cervantes.to

United Nationswww.unhcr.org/

ACAD Alumni Informationwww.acad.ca/alumni

21

Are you a graduate of the

Alberta College of Art + Design?

we want to hear from you!

contact us at alumni@acad.ca and sign up for our alumni e-newsletter,

or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com, search alberta college

of art + design (acad), official alumni page) to share your news and

learn about what’s happening at acad.

www.acad.ca/alumNi

Issue No. 2 / Page 11

claudina morgado,

acad alumni, artist

and cultural worker

on her international

career.

19

20

21

Issue No. 1 / Page 11

September 1, 2009

New Students' Orientation

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

ACAD | Main Mall

September 4, 2009Deborah Margo and Eric CameronVisiting Artist Lecture

2:30 PM | Stanford Perrott

Lecture Theatre | Brought to

ACAD by ACADSA

September 9, 2009Edson Campos

Visiting Artist Lecture

Stanford Perrott Lecture

Theatre | 8:00 PM

September 12, 2009

Chalkwalk 2009

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

17th Avenue | Calgary

Help beautify the avenue!

Chalkwalk is a juried compe-

tition for students that takes

place on 17th Ave SW. There

are fabulous cash prizes to

be won, lots of fun to be

had, and a great wrap up

(including a free burger +

drink) at the Ship + Anchor

pub.

September 18-20, 2009

Alberta Arts Days at ACAD

Join ACAD's IKG, for a

special reception on Sep-

tember 18th, 2009 (5:00

- 7:00 PM) as we celebrate

Alberta Arts Days, and open

a special series of public

conversations. Join in the

conversation, meet our fea-

tured artists, and catch the

last days of the Sled Island

Summer IKG exhibition.

September 18, 2009Anna von Gwinner Visiting Artist Public Lecture

2:30 PM Room 371

Closing Reception, Sled Island Exhibition, featuring the exhibiting artists.

5:00 - 7:00 PM What a mess! Florian Koehl, Neil Minuk and Anna Von Gwinner in conversation.

7:00 PM (Generously spon-

sored by ArtCity).

September 19, 2009 Numa Dallaire

Visiting Artist Public Lecture

1:00 PM | IKG

September 19, 2009Jeanie Riddle

Visiting Artist Public Lecture

1:30 PM | IKG

September 25, 2009Saaraliisa Ylitalo Visiting Artist Lecture

"Offerings: Fibre Works in

Paper"

Room 520 | 10:30 AM

September 26, 2009International Student Field Trip to the Columbia Ice Fields

October 1 – 3, 2009

1000 Miles Apart Conference

Hosted by the ACAD Ce-

ramics Program.

October 4 – 6, 2009Paul and Dante MarioniGlass artists

Visiting Artist Public Lecture

7:00 PM, October 5th, 2009

October 6, 2009

ACADSA Clothing Swap

12:00 - 2:00 PM, Main Mall

October 7, 2009

Edson Campo

Visiting Artist Lecture

Stanford Perrott Lecture

Theatre, 8:00 PM

Hosted by the professional

practices for artists class.

October 8, 2009Dorie MillersonVisiting Artist Public Lecture

Fibre Department

October 8, 2009Glen Ligon and John Gerrard

Visiting Artist Public Lecture

7:30 PM | Stanford Perrott

Lecture Theatre

Hosted by Art + Design

Now.

October 9 - December 12,

2009Glenn Ligon: Death of Tom and Untitled (Minnesota Massacre)

John Gerrard: Grow Finish Unit and Oil Stick Work

IKG Exhibition

October 9, 2009

Opening ReceptionGlenn Ligon: Death of Tom and Untitled (Minnesota Mas-sacre)John Gerrard: Grow Finish

Unit and Oil Stick Work

5:00 - 7:00 PM

Jason Moran In Concert

6:30 PM | Stanford Perrott

Lecture Hall

October 13 – 17, 2009 James Nakagawa

Visiting Artist

Photography Department

October 19, 2009CUD and the Bee Kingdom

Visiting Artist Public Lecture

7:00 PM | Stanford Perrott

Lecture Theatre

October 19-21st, 2009John Dury and Robbie Millar

Visiting Artists

Glass Department

October 21, 2009

ACADSA Movie Night

Main Mall

October 22, 2009

GEM Event

Jewellery + Metals program

what's on at ACADprogrAmINg, NewS + eveNTS For The FALL SeASoN To Come.

October 31, 2009ACADSA Hallowe'en Howl

November 9, 2009

ACADSA Art Swap

Main Mall

November 9, 2009Tierney GearonVisiting Artist Lecture

November 20, 2009

ACADSA Pulp Fiction Party

Main Mall

November 25, 2009

Stirring Culture 3: Women

Innovators in Design

presents Jan Brown.

Calgary Public Library

John Dutton Theatre

616 Macleod Trail SE

Public lecture 5:30 PM

November 25, 2009

ACADSA Movie Night

Main Mall

November 26- 29, 2009

Fall ACAD Show and Sale

Main Mall

December 1, 2009

ACADSA Ornament Auction

Main Mall

be Sure To vISIT

ACAD.CA To FIND ouT

more AbouT eveNTS

hAppeNINg AT ACAD

ThIS Term, AND To

LeArN more AbouT

The eveNTS LISTeD

here.

Find out what's happening at ACAD, keep in touch with our latest news and events, and learn more about our gallery exhibitions and special events. visit acad.ca/happening to learn more.

what's happening at ACAD?

22

22 ACAD students at work in the

Jewellery + Metals program, hosts

of the GEM event this fall.

FiNd uS oN FacebooK by SearchiNG "alberta colleGe oF art + deSiGN"

SiGN up For our rSS Feed to catch the lateSt iN NewS aNd eveNtS at acad.ca

Follow uS oN twitter at "acadoNliNe"

January 5 – April 20, 2010Jane BruceVisiting Artist

Glass Department

January 14 - March 13,

2010Attila Richard Lukacs“Polaroids: Studies for Paintings”Thierry Marceau

IKG Exhibition