UNews - travel opportunities

Roloff Beny winners reflect excellence

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:50:37 +0000

Neysa Hale and Kasia Sosnowski, both BFA art majors, emerged from a highly competitive group of applications to earn the two Roloff Beny Awards.

Each will receive a $5,000 scholarship to develop their art projects after the Roloff Beny Awards Committee established their proposals to be the best of an outstanding collection of applications.

Roloff Beny Award recipient Neysa Hale plans to travel to Williams Lake, B.C. to pursue her photo-arts project.

Hale, in her fourth year of study, plans to explore both a physical place and the social issues in Williams Lake, B.C. In her proposal Hale says, "My art practice focuses on social issues prevalent in society today revolving around social interactions and deviance labeling (negatively labeling those seen as deviant according to social norms). In exploring such issues, I aim to create an environment of contemplation and reflection that encourages one to stop and think about the implications. To do so, I use mixed media including textiles, video and photography, paying close attention to the overall composition and colour. I'm interested in Aboriginal and Caucasian relations in Williams Lake, B.C. There is a clear divide between the two groups where social barriers and skewed perspectives inhibit positive interaction. It is my desire to explore this divide through photography, research and observation to understand the situation and present it in a creative fashion. By travelling and documenting the Cariboo Wagon Road, I wish to open a discussion around the connection between the Cariboo Wagon Road and the Williams Lake Indian Bands to create a dialogue of the social by-pass that is occurring."

Kasia Sosnowski will journey to Poland to complete her project.

Sosnowski, in her sixth year of study, has a personal proposal involving exploring her heritage with a beloved family member's camera as her guide. According to her proposal,

"I want to use my Dziadek's [grandfather's] Leica to explore the relationship between photography, memory and eternal return. By travelling to Poland, I hope to capture and celebrate the relationship that I had with my Dziadek and his relationship with Poland. I've been to Poland only once before and the connection I felt to the people and the place was immense. If we consider eternal return, I will be led by the intuition of my past selves to revisit sites and spaces I've seen infinite amounts of time. Perhaps by
using my Dziadek's camera, I will be led to the places he explored and loved. I will only use his film camera to document the trip. Thus, the entire experience will be filtered through his camera."

In 2005, the Roloff Beny Foundation endowed $860,000 to the Department of Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, to generate ongoing funding for student scholarships and infrastructure costs in traditional and digital photo-arts. In recognition of excellence in art instruction and research, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was one of five institutions across Canada selected for such an endowment. Since then, more than $70,000 in scholarships have been awarded to students in fine arts, providing research based travel opportunities in conjunction with their studies in photo-arts.

The Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Awards in the Fine Arts is intended to provide outstanding Fine Arts students who have a concentrated interest in photo-arts with a travel opportunity in relation to their photographic activity. Any new or continuing students enrolled full-time in any BFA degree program who have a focused interest in photo-arts are eligible to apply for this competitive award.

This story first appeared in the April 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Roloff Beny Award winners have big plans

trevor.kenney — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:16:56 +0000

Nicole Lalonde and Arianna Richardson were recently named the winners of the 2012 Roloff Beny Awards.

The duo was selected from a group of high quality and competitive applications, earning scholarships of $5,000 each.

Lalonde is in her fifth year of an art degree program and is excited about the opportunity the scholarship affords.

"Although I typically work with video, both photography and video/film share similar histories and technologies; thus, the distinction between the two is often blurred," she says. "Additionally, while the moving image offers a medium for my explorations, it builds upon slow transitions – durational in nature – of a fixed image. As I am already working within the realm of photography, I would like to explore this medium further."

Arianna Richardson and Nicole Lalonde are the 2012 Roloff Beny Awards recipients.

Her project will take place in a Red Deer swimming pool, where she will practice different methods used to save a drowning victim.

"These maneuvers can appear both serene and hostile. Consequently, the interaction can be seen as both an act of violence and a rescue. This scenario is how I envision a video and photographic work of my twin sister and me," says Lalonde.

Richardson, in her fifth year of an art degree program, has an interest in national, provincial and regional identities. With these interests in mind she is in the process of constructing a personal archive entitled The Hobbyist.

"I want to travel to and document nine of the 14 annual fairs occurring in Alberta and Saskatchewan. As an inhabitant of the region, I feel it is necessary to discover how The Hobbyist relates to such goings on," she says. "To ensure a variety of representation, the locations range from small townships to capital cities. In each location I will attend the opening day parade or the closing day fireworks as well as explore the fairgrounds. The final product is the creation of a travel-guide type document where all my findings will be recorded and published alongside the release of a photo collection. This will make a significant addition to the archive, adding greatly to the expertise and dynamism of The Hobbyist."

In 2005, the Roloff Beny Foundation endowed $860,000 to the Department of Art to generate ongoing funding for student scholarships and infrastructure costs in traditional and digital photo-arts. In recognition of excellence in art instruction and research, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was one of five institutions across Canada selected for such an endowment. Since then, more than $70,000 in scholarships have been awarded to fine arts students, providing research based travel opportunities in conjunction with their studies in photo-arts.

The Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Awards in the Fine Arts provides outstanding fine arts students who have a concentrated interest in photo-arts with a travel opportunity in relation to their photographic activity. Any new or continuing students enrolled full-time in any BFA degree program who have a focused interest in photo-arts are eligible to apply for this competitive award.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Roloff Beny Award winners have big plans

trevor.kenney — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:40:26 +0000

Nicole Lalonde and Arianna Richardson were recently named the winners of the 2012 Roloff Beny Awards.

The duo was selected from a group of high quality and competitive applications, earning scholarships of $5,000 each.

Lalonde is in her fifth year of an art degree program and is excited about the opportunity the scholarship affords.

Arianna Richardson and Nicole Lalonde are the 2012 Roloff Beny Awards recipients.

Her project will take place in a Red Deer swimming pool, where she will practice different methods used to save a drowning victim.

This story first appeared in the June 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the entire issue in flipbook format, follow this link.

Japan Study Tour holds special significance

trevor.kenney — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:04:34 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has been sending students on Japanese study tours for more than 20 years, but you would be hard-pressed to find two students more appreciative of the opportunity to visit Japan than cousins Aaron and Taryn Tamayose.

The duo will accompany education professor Dr. Lance Grigg as part of the 15-student group selected to participate in the Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ exchange program. Fourth-generation Japanese, or Yonsei, the two will finally realize a lifelong dream of visiting their ancestral homeland.

"This trip is an opportunity of a lifetime, and there's no words to explain how excited I am to be a part of this with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and my cousin," says Aaron, a psychology major.

"I feel very strongly about my heritage, I like to express it, and what better way to learn a little bit more about the culture?"

Their grandfather's family moved to Canada shortly before the Second World War and was born and raised in Hardieville, just north of Lethbridge. Their grandmother, who had visited Canada as a small child but returned to her native Okinawa, was eventually forced out of Japan after the Battle of Okinawa. Her family eventually wound up in Hardieville and the Tamayose legacy was born.

Over the years, both Aaron and Taryn have experienced the Japanese culture through their grandparents and are eager to see it firsthand.

"We have a really strong family relationship. Growing up, we kept a lot of traditions but I know a lot of them have been westernized as well," says Aaron.

"One advantage we have is our Japanese background but at the same time, that background is a more westernized or assimilated view. A lot of our traditions are related to traditions in Japan, but I expect they are nothing like what it is there."

Taryn, a new media major, says her grandmother would often relate stories of the war years and how her family was forced to live in caves during the 82-day long Battle of Okinawa. She won't get to visit Okinawa on this trip but feels it will lay a foundation for future visits.

"This is a life experience for me and an opportunity to really get immersed in the Japanese culture," she says. "It's already a part of me and this has been a lifelong dream to go there, so I expect to take a lot away from it."

The Tamayose's say they were aware that travel opportunities existed for students at the U of L but never expected to participate. Once the Japan trip became a possibility, they made it a priority.

"I felt that this was worth the sacrifice to delay my convocation because the rewards would be greater to go to Japan and experience something I might never get the chance to do again," says Aaron, who will now convocate in the fall.

"I understood there were a lot of applied opportunities for U of L, students but I never really thought I'd be a part of it. In the last few years, I've really engaged myself with the applied learning process. It's one of those things that enriches the educational experience the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ offers."

That they will live this dream and get to share it with one another only enhances the experience.

"I've never been away for a month so it's comforting to go with someone who's grown up in the same family and has learned many of the same things about our culture," says Taryn.

Japan Study Tour holds special significance

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:50:29 +0000

The duo will accompany education professor Dr. Lance Grigg as part of the 15-student group selected to participate in the Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ exchange program later this month. Fourth-generation Japanese, or Yonsei, the two will finally realize a lifelong dream of visiting their ancestral homeland.

"I feel very strongly about my heritage, I like to express it, and what better way to learn a little bit more about the culture?"

Over the years, both Aaron and Taryn have experienced the Japanese culture through their grandparents and are eager to see it firsthand.

"We have a really strong family relationship. Growing up, we kept a lot of traditions but I know a lot of them have been westernized as well," says Aaron.

The Tamayose's say they were aware that travel opportunities existed for students at the
U of L but never expected to participate. Once the Japan trip became a possibility, they made it a priority.

"I understood there were a lot of applied opportunities for U of L, students but I never really thought I'd be a part of it. In the last few years, I've really engaged myself with the applied learning process. It's one of those things that enriches the
educational experience the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ offers."

That they will live this dream and get to share it with one another only enhances the experience.

"I've never been away for a month so it's comforting to go with someone who's grown up in the same family and has learned many of the same things about our culture," says Taryn.

UNews - travel opportunities

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