UNews - Josie Mills

Faculty of Fine Arts introduces Spirit Prize in support of Indigenous student art development

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 17:15:57 +0000

The Faculty of Fine Arts is inviting applications for the Spirit Prize, an award to support the career and artistic development of an Indigenous student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The application deadline for the inaugural Spirit Prize competition is January 31, 2022.

Generously supported by U of L alumnus Terry Whitehead (BA ’94), the Spirit Prize aims to support an emerging Indigenous visual artist, working in traditional or contemporary practices, in developing their career and helping them to advance as an artist. This competition is open to full-time or part-time self-declared Indigenous students (undergraduate or graduate), enrolled in any program of study at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The application deadline is January 31, 2022.

“This prize will provide extraordinary support for emerging artists studying here on Treaty 7 territory. Indigenous artists from our region have so much to offer and it’s important for us to find avenues to elevate their work to the national stage,” says Dr. Josie Mills, director/curator of the U of L Art Gallery. “The significant prize amount associated with this award will give a huge boost to this effort and allow artists to create a major artwork and to have their voice heard within the Canadian art world.”

The winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500 to be used towards a residency, a mentorship, travel to study in support of their art practice, a workshop to develop advanced skills, and materials to realize a major project or support an exhibition.

Submissions will be assessed and selected by a committee consisting of the Director/Curator of the U of L Art Gallery or designate, an Indigenous Art Studio faculty member, and the Manager of Iikaisskini or designate.

Award selection will be made on the following criteria:

Commitment to art practice
Creativity and concept proposed
Connection of art practice with Indigenous knowledge and perspectives
Completeness and professionalism of submission

Students can learn more about the submission requirements and access the application at ulethbridge.ca/fine-arts/awards/spirit-prize.

Stories for British Museums, student art exhibition on Indigenous object project, goes virtual

trevor.kenney — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 22:23:06 +0000

Interrupted and reimagined, Stories for British Museums, a new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student art exhibition showcasing works inspired by the Mootookakio’ssin Indigenous object project, is now in the virtual space.

Xiaosi Chen, Welcome to Blackfoot Territory, Printed Matter.

The U of L’s Hess Gallery was initially preparing to open the exhibition of student work as the global pandemic was declared in March. Students in Dr. Jackson TwoBears’ Indigenous art studio class were dropping off works and finishing up their projects when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was forced to close, leaving the gallery with a patchwork of finished works, some ready for installation and others not yet delivered.

“As we all adjusted to closures of public spaces and working from home, the issue of how to finish this exhibition hung over us,” says gallery director and curator Dr. Josephine Mills. “The students had done a fabulous job, working hard and engaging with processes, concepts and imagery of objects involved with Mootookakio’ssin.”

Ines Catalini, Come Over, Mixed Media Installation.

The Mootookakio’ssin project is a major research project to create detailed digital images of historic Blackfoot objects housed in three museums in Britain. A Canadian contingent of Elders from all four tribes in the Blackfoot Confederacy, U of L researchers, and artists travelled to Britain in July 2019 to meet with the British team members. Together, they visited the British Museum, the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at Cambridge ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and the Horniman Museum, London to view Blackfoot objects that had come from Blackfoot territory (throughout southern Alberta and Montana) and now are held in the UK.

“The Elders selected the objects we looked at, told stories prompted by the objects, and the team then made digital images of them,” says Mills. “Words fail to describe how deeply moving and emotional these visits were.”

John Little Bear, Ihkitsikammiksi, 7 Brothers, Big Dipper, Acryclic paint on leather and suede.

TwoBears’ students are the first to tackle the daunting task of working with the Mootookakio’ssin project. Their exhibition is an initial step for students from or living in Blackfoot traditional territory to connect with those students working with their research partners in Britain.

For the Blackfoot, there is no equivalent to the term 'object’ because all things are living beings – the ‘objects’ have a life force and the Elders were waking these objects after a century or more of separation from their people.

“It’s hard for non-Indigenous people to conceptualize this crucial idea of the connection between the objects and the people, of the life force that they each generate in the other,” shares Mills. “I could see how lifeless and incomplete the objects were without the people to wear them, use them, and have them play their role in telling stories and sharing knowledge.”

When Mills returned to campus in October and had an opportunity to see the incomplete works from the proposed student exhibition, she realized a connection to the historical objects in Britain.

“When restrictions began to open up, I went with David Smith, assistant curator and preparator, to remind ourselves what student work we had as we began to think about an online version of the exhibition,” she says. “Standing in that small storage room, I felt so sad looking at objects that lacked the vibrancy of the artists, the energy surrounding the exhibition; works that were incomplete, that didn’t have their context. And then it struck me, this is like visiting the historical objects in the museum storage in England.”

Historical objects convey information, and in the case of Indigenous objects in British museums, they provide the means to explain the ongoing legacies of colonialism and have the power to dismantle colonial narratives and rebuild relationships between people. Talking about the objects opens doors and creates paths to understanding.

Stories for British Museums is a crucial first step in building connections between historical Blackfoot objects and current artists and audiences. The exhibition presented on the art gallery’s website is not the same as the one that never came to be but is a valuable link in the research process and demonstrates the strength of the student artists and their work.

Lasting Images - January

trevor.kenney — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:27:55 +0000

When Art Gallery Director Dr. Josie Mills asked me if I wanted to write something for the Lasting Images page of the Legend on the occasion of my retirement, I gladly grasped the opportunity to showcase my favourite works of art in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Art Collection.

During my career as registrar for the art collection, so many great works of art have passed through my hands, but two small paintings held my attention over the years – it was love at first sight, and I still would like to take them home.

Why these two? First of all, they are beautifully painted, with not a brushstroke out of place. Also, there may be some nostalgia at play. The flower still life by F.S. Challener (1869-1959) is a wee little painting but packs a lot of attitude. Its dramatic chiaroscuro brings out the flowers to perfection, reminding me of the Dutch 17th century flower still lives of Bosschaert (but painted with the 'joi de vivre' of Frans Hals!).

The Impressionist landscape by F.H. Brigden (1871-1956), is atmospheric and full of the lush greens and flowering trees of spring. It evokes the rolling hills of Limburg and Bohemia that I know so well. These are my "feel good" paintings.

Frederick S. Challener, Still Life with Roses From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Acquired from Kaspar Gallery in 1984.

Art and nature are my two passions. I have been very lucky to find both in Lethbridge, and I hope that I'll be able to indulge in both in the years to come.

Thank you, U of L, for a swell time!

Lucie Linhart

For a full look at the January issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Campus Kudos - December

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:56:32 +0000

Dr. David Renter (music) Trio performed at Southern Alberta Art Gallery on Dec. 3 as part of the second event organized by the brand new Lethbridge Jazz Society.

Dr. Goldie Morgentaler (English) was featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Pakn Treger magazine, the magazine of the Yiddish Book Center. Published in Amherst, Mass., the Pakn Treger story details Morgentaler's teaching of Yiddish literature in what is referred to as the "Canadian Bible Belt".

Lisa Doolittle (Theatre & Dramatic Arts) was a plenary speaker with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary professor Anne Flynn and U of L alumnus Troy Emery Twigg (BFA '03) at the American Society for Theatre Research and Congress on Research in Dance international joint conference in Seattle in November. They presented the paper, Performing Negotiations: Blackfoot Dance in Colonial and Multicultural Canada. Doolittle also presented, Dance Research on the Move: Connecting across the academy and engaging with community, to graduate and PhD students at York ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Senate member, Paul Gale Pharo, was appointed to the Alberta Provincial Court Bench. Pharo is also the incoming president of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge and has three children attending the U of L.

Taras Polataiko (Art) recently exhibited his new work at the 5th International Biennale of Video Art in Israel.

Leanne Elias (New Media) recently had a chapter published in the book, Mobile Learning: Pilot Projects and Initiatives. The chapter is, Using Smartphone Technology to Extend the Educational Experience.

Nick Wade (Art) spoke at the Alberta Public Planners Institute in Lethbridge on the subject of art in the public realm.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge home page, www.uleth.ca, was selected as one of the Top-30 Outstanding Websites of Higher Education by Vandelay Design (http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/higher-education/). It was mentioned along websites from Johns Hopkins ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Virginia Tech ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Southern California.

Emily Luce's (New Media) exhibition, Parallel Park (Lab Space), is showing in the Helen Christou Gallery until Jan. 14, 2011.

Catherine Ross's (Art staff) exhibition, Field Sightings, is currently showing in Lethbridge's Mueller Art Gallery.

Dr. Josie Mills (U of L Art Gallery director/curator) presented, Deaccessioning: The Root of All Scandal, as part of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery's, Articulations: Art Appreciation Lecture Series, in November.

Matthew Blackburn (BMus '09), winner of the 2009 Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, performed with Musaeus String Quartet as part of the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Series.

For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Josie Mills

Faculty of Fine Arts introduces Spirit Prize in support of Indigenous student art development

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