UNews - Department of Art

Discover how governments have used art as a means of diplomacy at opening PUBlic Professor series talk

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:32:43 +0000

Visiting an art gallery or museum can be awe-inspiring and educational, but did you ever expect it could also be political?

Dr. Anne Dymond, art historian and Chair of the Department of Art at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will explore the mobilization of Canada’s art and museums for political purposes during the first PUBlic Professor Series lecture of the 2025-26 season on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Galt Museum & Archives. A presentation for Calgary audiences has also been scheduled Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at the Esker Foundation.

Art historian Dr. Anne Dymond will present talks in both Lethbridge and Calgary.

Dymond’s talk, From a Communist Doctor to Madonna’s Cone Bra: Museums and Cultural Diplomacy in Troubled Times, will examine how governments have used art as a means of diplomacy, acting as a bridge that connects nations across challenging divides.

“Of course, museums are for displaying and preserving our cultural heritage, but they’ve also always been political tools for the governments that fund them,” says Dymond. “In this talk I’m going to look at Canada’s use of art and art exhibitions to forge an international identity, particularly in the 1970s when the country was taking a new place on the world stage.”

Dymond notes that Canada was one of the world’s first countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China in 1970, and art exhibitions between the two nations played a big role in bridging cultural and political divides.

“From Inuit prints to the creation of new museums, Canada was very active in using cultural diplomacy as a form of soft power,” she says. “More recently the federal government has pulled back from supporting this type of cultural diplomacy, but certain provincial governments have stepped up and, in particular, Quebec has been promoting a Francophone identity abroad by using art and art exhibitions.”

Dymond is a dedicated teacher who has been a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors Teaching Chair and has served on the Board of Governors. Her ongoing work supporting refugees garnered her both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Senate Volunteer Award and the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. Her book, Diversity Counts: Gender, Race, and Representation in Canadian Art Galleries, is the first large-scale quantitative assessment of gender and ethnicity in Canadian art galleries and was described as “a path-breaking study and an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the contemporary art scene in Canada.”

The annual PUBlic Professor Series lectures spark thought-provoking discussions on the most relevant topics of the day, bringing together a diverse group of experts and researchers from across campus and into the community. Every talk is free of charge. For a look at the full series, visit ulethbridge.ca/research/public-professor.

2025-26 PUBlic Professor Series

From a Communist Doctor to Madonna’s Cone Bra: Museums and Cultural Diplomacy in Troubled Times — Dr. Anne Dymond, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 — Galt Museum & Archives

Cockwombles, Cornucopias and the Curious Task of Economics — Dr. Danny Le Roy, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 — Agri-Food Hub & Trade Centre

Has AI Made Teachers Obsolete? — Dr. Richelle Marynowski — Thursday, November 27, 2025 — Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge

Playing Telephone with Eyewitness Evidence — Dr. Jamal Mansour, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 — The Owl Acoustic Lounge

Indigenous Childhood Stories Transform Worlds – Want Some? — Dr. Don McIntyre, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 — Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge

Legalized Gambling in Canada: Winners and Losers — Dr. Robert Williams — Thursday, March 26, 2026 — Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge

U of L art professor’s research program boosted by Canada Foundation for Innovation funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 16:05:45 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge project is one of 332 research infrastructure projects to receive support through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), as announced today by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. More than $77 million in funding will go to projects at 50 Canadian universities.

“Our researchers have always thought big,” says Champagne. “Now, more than ever, they need state-of-the-art labs and equipment to turn their visions into reality. Investing in our university research infrastructure is key to our continuing role as an innovation leader in wide-ranging fields, from Indigenous research to quantum computing, from neurobiology to advanced robotics. These investments will not only support our ground-breaking contributions to science and research but also improve our economy, environment and quality of life.”

The U of L’s Jackson Two Bears, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Indigenous Arts Research and Technology and associate professor in the Department of Art, has received over $82,000 to support the development of the Onkwehonwe Research Environment (ORE) — a research and creation space that will bring students, researchers, and the community together.

“I don't know if there's ever been a time in my life where I've had the opportunity to do what I've pictured in my mind,” says Two Bears gratefully. “Usually, you invent a project, then you scale it back to what you can afford to do, or what you can do with space. Now, there's no ceiling on being able to explore all the stuff that I've been wanting to for many years. It’s an unbelievable opportunity.”

“Funding from CFI is essential for supporting innovation and growing both the capacity and the opportunities for new partnerships that impact our regional communities, as well as the national landscape,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, U of L vice-president (research). “Professor Two Bears’ research program is a fundamental piece of that puzzle.”

Emerging at a crucial moment, when the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) have become essential to defining the future of our nation, Two Bears’ research program asks the crucial question: what do reconciliation and decolonization look like in the digital age?

Funding will support the development of a lab space in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Centre for the Arts where students and researchers will have the tools to develop new technology for production and experimentation in Indigenous media arts research, the space to create large-scale multimedia installations, and the opportunity for intensive community engagement and partnership building with local, national and regional Indigenous groups, knowledge-keepers and elders. The lab will allow for everything from screening a movie on a large screen, to video projection, programming, ambisonic sound development, visualization, 3D projection and general production.

“The idea was to think about it as a modular space, as opposed to setting up a lab with a singular specific focus,” describes Two Bears. “This lab will hopefully accommodate all kinds of different research projects, from development to production, even presentation of media and materials in some capacity.”

ORE is also supported by the Alberta Research Capacity Program, Canada Council for the Arts and uLethbridge.

Two Bears named Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts Research and Technology

trevor.kenney — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:13:47 +0000

The Government of Canada has named Jackson Two Bears, associate professor of Indigenous art studio and media arts at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, a Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Indigenous Arts Research and Technology.

Jackson Two Bears' proposed research program involves the creation of large-scale, site specific, interactive, multimedia installations. PHOTO by Amanda Berg

As a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) person, the core of Two Bears’ research is respect: respect for land, culture and communities. With a focus on Indigenous land-based histories and embodied cultural knowledge, his research explores the use of digital technology to support the innovation, transmission, expression and transformation of FNMI creative and cultural practices.

“My research asks one crucial question: what does reconciliation and decolonization look like in the digital age?” explains Two Bears. “The central part of the research is thinking about how we as Indigenous people are storytellers, how we think about our history and our knowledge formation, and how that way of being is connected to land and place.”

His proposed research program involves the creation of large-scale, site specific, interactive, multimedia installations; the development of a geolocation based, multimedia app featuring mobile media, and Virtual Reality artworks; and a major publication focused on exploring reconciliation and decolonization in the digital age.

Selecting historical locations, Two Bears works with the original keepers of the land as collaborators, immersing himself in the setting, culture and history of the space. This immersive research methodology led to the development of a unique course, LandMarks, where he invites students to join him on location, diving deeper into the history and original stories of the land, then working together to create site-specific artistic responses.

“Knowledge and learning are community-based,” says Two Bears. “We couldn’t be on campus, we had to be on location. The point wasn’t to study the location from afar but to be immersed in it, spend time there, find our way in that space.”

The course ends with an outdoor exhibition of installations in and around Indian Battle Park. For future installations and digital works, Two Bears will continue to collaborate with elders, knowledge-keepers and members of the community in specific geographical locations, primarily in Treaty 7 Blackfoot territory, and in his home community of Six Nations.

“My unique research and creative program aims to build capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect through collaborative engagement with multidisciplinary projects focused on creative renewal, revitalization and cultural expression in our communities.”

As a Canada Research Chair, Two Bears now has the resources and institutional support to continue his ambitious research-creation goals while engaging more students in his work and processes.

“I’ve always been really interested in bringing students into my research practice and providing research-based learning. Now I can facilitate more of that,” says Two Bears. “My research is interconnected with the classes I’m teaching and the work I do myself. Being a research chair helps enable these multidisciplinary processes.”

Earning a research chair in the arts not only provides additional opportunities for students and research colleagues, it also shows validity in the research topic and methodology.

“There are very few Indigenous Canada Research Chairs out there, even fewer in the arts, so this shows a commitment to different kinds of research,” says Two Bears. “In the arts we’re always working to explain the things we do and the importance of what we do, so it is great that embodied creative practice as knowledge formation is being recognized as a form of research itself.”

Seeing the development of Two Bears’ methodology, the relationships he builds with students and Indigenous communities, and the breadth of work created between him and his inspired students, the Faculty of Fine Arts is excited to see what develops through his tenure as a CRC.

“Jackson’s work, and the increased opportunities it offers our students, resonates within and outside our university and with our ongoing work towards more inclusive practices,” says Dr. Mary Ingraham, dean, Faculty of Fine Arts. “Jackson’s passion for contemporary and traditional expressions of Indigenous lifeways is without parallel and we are excited to witness the increased possibilities for new student voices and programs as they collaborate with him in the coming years.”

Two Bears is among 182 new and renewed research chairs named for the Spring 2020 Canada Research Chairs program. The Government of Canada invested $140 million, with an additional $4.6 million in new funding for research infrastructure from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In its 20th year, the Canada Research Chair program continues to provide opportunities for researchers to excel in their fields and build teams of experts at Canadian institutions.

Crossing Boundaries Symposium now in its fourth year

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 20:49:41 +0000

The fourth annual Crossing Boundaries Symposium, presented by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Fine Arts, brings together interdisciplinary members of the community, faculty, students and alumni to engage in a full day of presentations, discussions, displays and performances.

Brad Parker listens to the Aeolian Harp he built with music student Jess Tollestrup.

“Crossing Boundaries invites our community to experience the collaborations, creative activities and research across multiple disciplines,” says Dr. Mary Ingraham, Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts of the Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 event. “It is about discovering and celebrating those cross-collaborative intersections and synergies and finding inspiration to explore new areas of thought and research in the fine arts and across the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.”

The theme for Crossing Boundaries 2019, Languages | Landscapes | Algorithms, is established with the keynote presentation by Leanne Elias (new media) entitled, Visualizing Agriculture, at 9 a.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall. Elias’s talk includes the premiere of the documentary of the same name, co-directed by Bryn Hewko (MFA '16) and his company Output Media, which revolves around the creative works and artist exhibition derived from agricultural data developed by Dr. Jaime Larson and Dr. Andre Laroche of the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre: Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. Visualizing Agriculture considers the counterpoints of art meeting science and investigates the effect of intensive collaboration. Discover how artists can use the scientific process to guide their art, and how scientists can use artistic ways of knowing to approach their data in new ways.

Jess Tollestrup works on the Aeolian Harp, on display at Crossing Boundaries.

Following Elias’s keynote presentation, MFA candidate Michelle Sylvestre will speak on her research, Physicalizing Control, Disruption and the Body, which examines the parallels and differences in contemporary pharma and contemporary technology in relation to control of the body. PhD candidate Migueltzinta Solis will then present on LandMarks: Site-Based Arts Pedagogy in Treaty 7 Territory. At 10:40 a.m., Department of Psychology faculty member, Dr. Javid Sadr, and Department of Drama faculty members, Dr. Aaron Taylor and Douglas MacArthur cap off the morning programme, discussing projects developing from the Screen Acting and Embodied Recognition Research Group.

Registrants are invited to observe and interact with student research displays and installations from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., located in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Atrium and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Hess Gallery.

This year’s Crossing Boundaries Symposium is scheduled during the U of L Open House, which welcomes prospective students and their families to campus.

“Coordinating the symposium during this event gives future students the opportunity to see a sampling of the fascinating research opportunities and collaborative activities on our campus,” says Ingraham. “It allows these students to experience the types of work and study they will engage in and provides great interaction with many of the faculty who will also be in attendance at the symposium.”

Afternoon sessions include Dr. Amandine Pras’s (music) presentation focussing on compositional and improvisational tools used by studio technicians as part of her research in the recording studios in war-torn Bamako, Mali. Continuing on the theme of sound, language and landscape, a talk by MA candidate Tyler Stewart examines the role sound has played as a political instrument to silence dissenting groups and individuals, and in turn, how language and sound is used to resist and rise against such powers.

A panel discussion, Objects Dream comprised of Fine Arts faculty members, Dr. Dana Cooley (new media), Denton Fredrickson (art), Mia van Leeuwen (drama), and Dr. D. Andrew Stewart (music), rounds out the afternoon’s sessions. This discussion explores the relationships and interactions of material objects, and their associations as a link across artistic disciplines.

This year’s Crossing Boundaries Symposium showcases an evening finale of works by Dr. Arlan Schultz (music), Dr. Daniela Sirbu (new media) and a collaborative presentation by Bryn Hewko (new media), Dr. D. Andrew Stewart (music) and Jordan Berg. Schultz’s live demonstration highlights how new algorithms for real-time immersive audio can be used to enhance and augment real-time acoustic performances. Sirbu’s presentation incorporates algorithmic animation demonstrated through samples of live animation developed in interaction with an artificial life system. Hewko, Stewart and Berg’s collaborative performance, Crawlspace, combines film with live digital coding. Audience members are invited to use their own personal tablets to create their own viewing experience, with one lucky audience member outfitted with the Oculus Rift for a full virtual reality experience. This showcase begins at 5 p.m. in W420 (Centre for the Arts), preceded by a reception and cash bar at 4:30 p.m.

Registration for Crossing Boundaries is open to all, with early bird pricing active until October 20, 2019.

Visit the Crossing Boundaries webpage for the schedule of events and updated information as it arises.

Uchikura nurtures passion for ceramics at Medalta

trevor.kenney — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 21:41:00 +0000

Ceramic artists from around the world are drawn to the prestigious Medalta Potteries facilities in Medicine Hat for the opportunity to study and practice at the Shaw International Centre for Contemporary Ceramics. After receiving the Faculty of Fine Arts Medalta Residency Award, Gary Uchikura, a third-year art student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge had the rare opportunity to join emerging and established artists for a month-long intensive residency.

The Faculty of Fine Arts Medalta Residency Award provides a month-long opportunity to a third year, returning art student.

“Gary is an emerging artist who has shown a profound interest and material engagement with ceramics in his studio practice in art,” shares Annie Martin, art faculty and member of the award selection committee. “Gary's art practice is far reaching, traversing painting, performance, and ceramic art, and drawing inspiration from the discipline and forms of martial art practice and his deep interest in and connection to Japanese-Canadian cultural heritage.”

Uchikura’s fascination with ceramics began last summer after taking a class with instructor and ceramic artist Tanya Doody. Over the next year he threw upwards of 500 ceramic vessels from four inch tall cups to 15 inch platters, vases, teapots, bowls and other sculptural forms.

“The Medalta Residency presented a huge chance to expand on my ideas about ceramics, pottery and sculpture,” explains Uchikura. “Having had only a year of exposure to a legitimate ceramic practice has allowed me to approach all aspects of my work in a fresh way, but learning from many people involved in similar work is the true key to unlocking the sculptural potential of clay.”

The Faculty of Fine Arts Medalta Residency Award provides a month-long opportunity to a third year, returning art student. The award is supported by Medalta and the Faculty of Fine Arts through funds provided by donors to support student enhancement initiatives. Award recipients receive 24-hour personal studio access, firings, use of shop glazes, accommodations at Medicine Hat College, a stipend of $1,000 and exhibition opportunity in the U of L Art Department.

The Medalta International Artists in Residence Program serves artists at all stages of their careers including students, emerging and established artists working together in spacious, semi-private studios. Recipients of the award are not only inspired by the setting and scenery but by the other residents from all over the world and all forms of artistic backgrounds.

“Any time you enter a program alongside other accomplished artists, the resulting cross pollination of technique, knowledge and aesthetic ideas is that like no solitary practice could ever hope to achieve,” says Uchikura. “There is both a competitive and nurturing vibe at the Medalta residency that fuels enthusiasm and focus for the people involved.”

Uchikura spent the month of May in the Medalta studios building the confidence to create larger vessels, prepare glazes, test different kilning processes including salt, soda and wood firing and the many preparations needed to make them successful.

“Clay resonates with me as a material like none other,” says Uchikura. “Something in its texture and mouldable consistency transports me back to my youth. Ceramics is also an artisanal skill from Japan that carries strong associations with household object of my daily life.”

Uchikura, a second-generation Japanese-Canadian, martial arts enthusiast, and mature student with a previous degree in agricultural science says that returning to the university to study art has been a source of liberation for his imagination.

“This creative outlet has been the most satisfying I have ever known,” shares Uchikura. “I chose to study at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge because the number of accomplished artists that have come out of and teach at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was quite astonishing. The enthusiasm for innovation in teaching and nurturing art practice such as the Art Now talks and the Crossing Boundaries Symposiums makes me very proud to be part of its educational tradition.”

Students interested in the Medalta residency opportunity are encouraged to apply by March 2020. Students are selected by art faculty members based on a demonstrated excellence in art, and a strong interest in ceramic art and in experiencing an intensive artist residency.

For more information about the Department of Art, and the Medalta Residency Award, visit ulethbridge.ca/fine-arts

Annual Art Open House celebrates 23 student award winners

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 21:06:58 +0000

A year’s worth of creativity and dedication was on display Monday, April 8 at the annual Department of Art Open Studio exhibition and award reception. Works created by advanced and senior art studio students adorned the walls of the 8th level Centre for the Arts as 23 talented students were recognized for their achievements. The annual student art awards recognize excellence and commitment to Art Studio and Art History/Museum Studies.

Recognizing excellence in their program of study or creative practice, the following award recipients were announced:

-        Excellence in Art Studio: Danin Lawrence
-        Excellence in Art History/Museum Studies: Katie Thomas
-        Art History/Museum Studies Gallery Award: Stephanie Wilson and Kirstan Schamuhn
-        Excellence in Indigenous Art Studio: Wayne Provost and Serene Weasel Traveller
-        Excellence in Printmaking: Daylen Chupik and Shery Macardy
-        RHE Sculpture Award: Nikki Maruschak

The SAAG Award went to Courtney Faulkner, who also received one of five Roloff Beny Photography Awards. This year’s Roloff Beny Photography Award recipients included Faulkner, Alicia Barbieri, Kylie Fineday, Stephanie Wilson and Arcana Shanks.

The Roloff Beny Photography Awards recognize academic and artistic achievement of students with an interest in Photo-Arts. The funds are used to offset costs incurred by travel, photography equipment, supplies or tuition fees. The five travel projects funded this year include trips to Western Canada, Montana and Idaho to interview meat farmers; to Mexico City to research painter Frida Kahlo and architect Luis Barragan; to India to “pursue the idea of documenting subjects that might be considered banal in a different cultural context”; and to Ireland to capture a personal journey through the Irish landscape and the “organic authenticity in the struggle to live a simplified life.

Laurel Scott had her artwork purchased by the Department of Art.

”The Student Union Art Award went to Meghan Venables. The Art Society Award went to Danin Lawrence and Stephanie Wilson. Wilson, along with classmates Amy McAllister and Eric Almberg, received the Student of Art Endowment for their project Karamat Wilderness Survival Course. They used the Art Endowment to participate in activitites that “expand worldviews, art practice and skill development through new exposures… creating circumstances of contemplation and meditation in natural environments while enforcing an art practice based on experience.”

The David Lanier Memorial Award was presented to McKenzie Bond-Holloway and Alicia Barbieri for demonstrating excellence in photo-arts. They also received the Founding Faculty Artist Residency Prize, established by alumna and artist Mary Annis. The award supports two students in their pursuit of the arts by funding an artist residency at the Gushul Studio and Writer’s Cottage in Blairmore, Alberta. Barbieri and Bond-Holloway will spend May 2019 in the scenic and historic Crowsnest Pass with the final result on display in an Art Department exhibition.

The award ceremony also announced the recipient of the 2019 Faculty of Fine Arts Medalta Residency Award: Gary Uchikura. He’ll spend one month with art students from across Canada in a dynamic group setting at the Medalta Artist Residency and Historic Clay Works located in Medicine Hat, including 24-hour personal studio access, exhibition opportunities, firings, use of shop glazes, accommodations at Medicine Hat College and an exhibition of work in the Art Department.

For 2019, a new one-time award was created to honour a former assistant professor in the Department of Art. The Jennifer Gordon Award went to four deserving students: Wendy Jorgenson, Hannah Aubie, Francisco Luna and Leah Koutroumanos.

Finally, the Department of Art selects one piece of student art work to purchase each year for their collection. The 2019 student artwork was purchased from Laurel Scott.

Art professor Dr. Anne Dymond appointed a Board of Governors Teaching Chair

trevor.kenney — Fri, 25 May 2018 19:19:08 +0000

An ever-evolving instructor who seeks to empower her students to pursue their passions in intelligent, thoughtful and meaningful ways, Dr. Anne Dymond has been named a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors Teaching Chair.

Keen to adapt her teaching methods to the changing needs of her students, Anne Dymond has evolved her teaching philosophy through study and self-evaluation, deconstructing long-entrenched instructional models to create a class environment that celebrates engagement, inclusivity and critical thinking.

Dymond studied both English and Art History at Queen’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, earning a bachelor’s, a master’s and a doctorate before coming west to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 2000. Beginning as an assistant professor in the Department of Art, she advanced the study of art history and eventually assumed the role of Chair of the department in 2010-11.

Dymond understands that teaching focuses on learning and that all learners have both strengths and challenges. She believes a good teacher must employ multiple techniques to take learners from where they are to where the course objectives want to take them. She seeks to meet her students’ needs through classes that promote active learning and by creating an atmosphere where students assume responsibility for their own learning.

She believes in the philosophy of creating a community of learners that extends beyond the classroom. Her research focus examines ethical actions around diversity in museums and art galleries and she is currently developing a new course centering on art and social justice themes.

Dymond is continually challenging her development as an instructor while urging her students to think critically, test their limits and engage the world as citizens and lifelong learners.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is proud to celebrate Dr. Anne Dymond at 2018 Spring Convocation Ceremony III on Friday, June 1 at 9:30 a.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gymnasium.

Research project examines atomic tourism at site of the world’s first atomic bomb blast

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:13:22 +0000

A visit to New Mexico and the test site of the first atomic blast led Mary Kavanagh, a professor in the Department of Art at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, on a new multi-year project that explores atomic tourism in the context of the emergent nuclear Anthropocene.

Photo by Terry Ownby

Her project recently received nearly $150,000 over four years from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the first Insight Research/Creation Grant awarded to a faculty member at the U of L.

“Since the end of the Cold War, atomic tourism has been on the rise, with millions of visitors each year travelling to significant sites of atomic history, industry and accident,” says Kavanagh. “My project, Atomic Tourist: Trinity, explores nuclear anxiety in the post-Cold War era through a series of interviews with visitors to the site of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation.”

Under the auspices of the Manhattan Project, a secret wartime consortium led by the United States with the support of Britain and Canada, the development and use of atomic weapons presented new orders of destructive capability. Codenamed "Trinity," the test took place deep in the desert on July 16, 1945, south of the Manhattan project's headquarters in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Every living thing within a mile of the blast was obliterated. A rehearsal for the bombing of Hiroshima three weeks later, and Nagasaki three days after that, today the significance of Trinity site as a marker for the birth of the atomic age is widely acknowledged socially, culturally, and psychologically.

Photo by Tyler Muzzin

Kavanagh has been making annual trips to Trinity, New Mexico, since 2012. Building upon interviews gathered during a highly successful pilot study, Kavanagh will continue to gather participant testimonials from a broad spectrum of tourists during bi-annual Trinity Open Houses.

"This audio/visual material will provide a spatial-temporal archive, consisting of an accumulation of voices, perspectives and experiences all addressing the unique meaning of Trinity site," says Kavanagh.

She anticipates the results of her study will have implications for scholars in the humanities and social sciences, or for anyone engaged in post-atomic studies, especially as the Trinity test nears its 75th Anniversary (2020) and interest in the subject ramps up.

Interview participants have offered a variety of motivations for visiting the test site, ranging from the deeply personal to the curious. There are war veterans, history buffs, scientists, nuclear industry workers, filmmakers, activists and cancer survivors. They arrive in the thousands, some travelling from far-flung places to experience firsthand where the atomic age began.

A series of art works or "chapters" including moving-image vignettes, photographic works, book works, and installations will be produced over the four-year period of the grant, while a culminating experimental documentary filmwill offer an extended meditation on the research and annual fieldwork.

“The most important thing for me as an artist is the question of vulnerability and what’s at stake. This project specifically focuses on the vulnerable human and animal subject, and on the slow violence unleashed through the vast and unstoppable nuclear experiment,” she says.

Kavanagh's project will construct an archive of voices that reveals the profound global embodiment of the nuclear era as collective and cumulative. Considered alongside the historic, ethical and ecological dimensions of Trinity site, this drilling down or deep mapping of the site will uniquely contribute to the growing body of scholarship on urgent questions of the nuclear age.

U of L researchers awarded more than $907,000 in research funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:40:49 +0000

Today, Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s Minister of Science, announced the recipients of several Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants and seven ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are among those who secured funding for their projects.

“I want to commend the grant and scholarships recipients whose tireless efforts help us better understand our world and our relationships with each other,” says Duncan. “Our government is proud to support these talented researchers and scholars who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to the benefit of Canadians and our growing middle class.”

“We are extremely pleased that seven U of L research projects were successful in this competition,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president (research). “It demonstrates the strength of our researchers in the social sciences and humanities and we congratulate each one of them.”

The funding includes Partnership Development Grants, designed to foster new research with new or existing partners, Insight Development Grants that support research in its beginning stages, and Insight Grants for long-term research initiatives. The research projects are diverse, spanning the fields of visual arts, anthropology, psychology, digital humanities, finance and history and gender studies.

Dr. Dan O'Donnell

Dr. Dan O’Donnell, a professor in the Department of English, conducts research in the Digital Humanities, where tools and methods from computer science are applied to humanities fields like history, philosophy and literature. His digital tools, like the Internet, make it easy to share research information widely, but O’Donnell has found the world of research publishing hasn’t changed much, with the same major publishers running the market. He began working on building a different kind of research network called Future Commons where research is freely shared and publicly available and where corporations can still make a profit. The Partnership Development Grant, which includes three other organizations, will facilitate research to further the Future Commons network. For more information visit Future Commons.

Mary Kavanagh

Mary Kavanagh, a professor in the Department of Art, will examine nuclear anxiety in the post-Cold War era through interviews with visitors to Trinity, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation. A rehearsal for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Trinity was the codename for the test blast in 1945, deep in the desert south of the Manhattan project’s headquarters in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Tourists now flock to the site during bi-annual open houses. Kavanagh, through interviews conducted at the site, plans to generate a series of art works or “chapters” that include moving-image vignettes, photographic works, book works, installations and an experimental documentary film that explores urgent questions of the nuclear age. For more information visit Atomic Tourism.

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, an anthropology professor, will explore urban collective housing communities as non-individualistic approaches to well-being. Such communities work to balance independence and interdependence by including both personal/private and shared/collective spaces, and, unlike many intentional communities, are integrated with, rather than segregated from, society at large. Kingfisher will compare communities in Tokyo and Vancouver to gain insight into how this model of the good life operates in cultural contexts that historically and ideologically have stressed different aspects of individualism and collectivism. The project is situated in the context of increasing academic and governmental interest in happiness and well-being. For more information visit Intentional Communities.

Dr. Fangfang Li

Dr. Fangfang Li, a psychology professor, will examine factors that may influence speech errors in second-language learners. She found that errors made by local students in French Immersion programs persisted over time, even though researchers expected the students would make fewer speech errors when they reached higher grades. Li hypothesizes that the errors persist because opportunities to speak with native French speakers are limited in a community where English is the dominant language. Li’s research will look at a mixed bilingual program in Edmonton to see if the second-language learners there, who have more opportunity to speak with native speakers, produce more accurate speech as they advance to higher grades. For more information visit Second-language Learning.

Dr. Yutao Li

Dr. Yutao Li, a professor in the Faculty of Management at the U of L’s Calgary campus, will explore the costs and benefits of banks’ involvement in lending networks. While greater connectivity in a network can be helpful because it gives a bank more information it can use to evaluate a borrower’s credit risk, it can also be detrimental if risk enters the financial system and spreads throughout the network, as it did during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Li’s study is the first to investigate banks’ lending networks and the research will help build understanding about how banks’ network connectivity affects information acquisition, lending practices and quality of financial reporting. For more information visit Banking Networks.

Dr. Paul Vasey

Dr. Paul Vasey, a psychology professor, will delve into competition for mates in cultures that recognize third genders, specifically the muxes in the Istmo region of Oaxaca, Mexico and the fa’afafine in Samoa. The fa’afafine and muxes are same-sex attracted feminine males or what could be termed transgender in North America. They engage in sexual activity with masculine men who are bisexual, thus creating a competitive atmosphere for heterosexual women. In contrast, women in Euro-American cultures most often face competition from other women. Vasey and his students will conduct research in Canada and at their field sites in Samoa and Mexico to see how the presence of third-gender males affects the behaviour and psychology of heterosexual individuals. For more information visit Mate Competition.

Dr. Carol Williams

Dr. Carol Williams, a professor in Women and Gender Studies and History, and her collaborators, Linda Weasel Head, Hali Heavy Shield and Faye Heavy Shield, will assemble diverse and new historical accounts of Kainai women’s social reform work between 1968 and 1990. The researchers will engage with the Kainai community and propose a series of cultural and historical workshops for all age groups to encourage conversation and storytelling. The study hopes to challenge the colonial character of the archives as they exist and the myths of Indigenous-Settler relations. The study, in line with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seeks to expand historical literacy about how Kainai women transformed their communities. For more information visit Kainai Women’s Activism.

Crossing Boundaries Symposium returns to discuss art, technology and identity

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:28:02 +0000

With technological advances running at an incredible pace, and the current political and social climate in a perpetual state of flux, artists, innovators, scholars and activists alike continue researching and working on ways to address the questions and issues that arise from our ever-changing world. Join the Faculty of Fine Arts October 27-28 as they host the second annual Crossing Boundaries Symposium to discuss ideas on art, technology and identity.

Crossing Boundaries: Art, Technology, and Identity hopes to activate cultural discourse on the relevance of current artistic practices in relation to the directions of this overarching theme. This two-day event brings together established and emerging innovators from the creative fields to Southern Alberta for engaging discussions, activities and displays.

The Crossing Boundaries Symposium kicks off October 27 with a reception and presentations by Fine Arts students in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Main Gallery and Level 6 Atrium. On October 28, look forward to speaker presentations, demonstrations, displays, activities and workshops in the Centre for the Arts. The day culminates with a panel discussion involving all three visiting speakers, moderated by Dr. Edward Jurkowski, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

“Crossing Boundaries aims to showcase the diversity and cross-disciplinary nature of the professional creative world,” explains Jurkowski. “Our first symposium in 2016 proved to be an engaging and thought provoking endeavour and we look forward to hosting our second annual event, bringing new guest speakers to ignite fresh ideas and discourse on art, technology and identity.”

For the second annual symposium, the Faculty of Fine Arts welcomes David Rokeby, Dr. Micha Cárdenas and Dr. Thecla Schiphorst. David Rokeby practices interactive art, translating physical gestures into real-time interactive sound environments. His works address issues of digital surveillance and engage in critical examination of the differences between human and artificial intelligence. He currently teaches in the New Media department at Ryerson ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and is Adjunct Professor at OCAD ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, both in Toronto.

Dr. Micha Cárdenas, assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and Interactive Media Design at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Washington’s Bothell campus, is described as one of “seven bio-artists who are transforming the fabric of life itself” by io9.com. Cárdenas is an artist and theorist who creates media art to reduce violence and increase health. In addition to Cárdenas presentation, she will also host a workshop where participants will learn to create art and design that responds to community needs and address real problems. By considering human centered design, community-based design, hacktivism and media art, participants will identify their own communities, discuss how to learn about their concerns and how to turn those issues into art and design.

Dr. Thecla Schiphorst leads the whisper[s] research group, an acronym for wearable, handheld, intimate, sensory, personal, expressive, responsive systems. Her research in embodied interaction focuses on movement knowledge and representation, tangible and wearable technologies, media and digital art and the aesthetics of interaction. She is Associate Director and Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Vancouver.

Tickets are $10 for students, $20 regular until October 23, when the price raises to $30 for regular ticket holders. Register today to save at ulethbridge.ca/tickets.

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