UNews - Department of New Media

“Brainstorm” documentary wins Rosie Award

caroline.zentner — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:40:55 +0000

Brainstorm, the documentary film created and directed by Dr. Jenna Bailey, an adjunct professor of history and senior researcher with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition, won a Rosie at the Alberta Film & Television Awards ceremony on Oct. 25.

“I’m deeply honoured that Brainstorm has received the Rosie Award for Best Educational Production,” says Bailey. “This film was created to celebrate the remarkable contributions of Dr. Bryan Kolb and Dr. Ian Whishaw, whose groundbreaking research in neuroscience has shaped how we understand the human brain.”

The team behind the production includes co-producer Dr. Edgar Bermudez Contreras, adjunct professor at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN), and editor Bryn Hewko (MFA - New Media '16), assistant professor of new media.

The 42-minute film delves into the history behind the establishment of the CCBN and its growth through the efforts of Kolb, Wishaw, Dr. Robert Sutherland and Dr. Robbin Gibb. The research results produced by CCBN scientists have provided insight into Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and early brain development, to name a few. As a result, prevention strategies for brain disorders and programs to improve brain health have been developed. Community programs have sprouted from their findings and have been key to launching such programs as Building Brains Together and the Early Years program through the Martin Family Initiative.

“It’s been a privilege to share their story with audiences and to highlight the incredible work happening right here in Lethbridge,” says Bailey. “This recognition is a tribute to our entire team and to the power of film as a way to inspire curiosity, learning and pride in our scientific and local heritage.”

The film had its Lethbridge premiere nearly a year ago to a sold-out crowd at the Yates Theatre. Since then, Brainstorm has been picked up by Amazon Prime in the United States and the United Kingdom and by Roku in the US.

The film has also been selected for several film festivals. The documentary was an Official Selection at the SCINEMA International Science Film Festival (Australia) and aired as a part of National Science Week in Australia, a semifinalist at the Raw Science Film Festival (USA), the Iris Global Health Film Festival (USA) and the USA Film Festival. In addition, Brainstorm was a nominee for the Best Science/Nature/Technology Doc at the Yorkton Film Festival (Saskatchewan).

Brainstorm was produced with the support of TELUS STORYHIVE and has been released on Telus Optik TV Channel 9. Additional funding was generously provided by the Alberta Medical Association, Government of Alberta, Alberta Media Fund, CCBN, Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) and the Historical Society of Alberta.

Bailey’s next project focuses on the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra and the history of classical music making in southern Alberta. Learn more at www.baileyandsoda.com.

New ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Canada Research Chairs at forefront of critical studies

caroline.zentner — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:35:05 +0000

Dr. Alex Tetarenko, an astrophysicist in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has been named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Black Hole Astrophysics, and Dr. Amy Mack (BA ’13, MA ’16), assistant professor in the Department of New Media, has been named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Extremism.

The recent announcement by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, was part of $690 million invested in science and research funding across Canada. Of that amount, $198 million will support 259 new and renewed CRCs like Tetarenko and Mack.

In addition to being named Canada Research Chairs, the pair will also receive funding for infrastructure through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) from the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

“This recognition reflects the high calibre of research taking place at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president research. “These Canada Research Chair appointments honour the achievements of Dr. Tetarenko and Dr. Mack and illustrate ULethbridge’s commitment to advancing knowledge and understanding in a broad range of fields from astrophysics to new media.”

Dr. Alex Tetarenko studies the physics of black holes.

Tetarenko is an internationally recognized researcher in high-energy astrophysics. She has built her research program by using innovative methodologies to investigate black holes.

“My research focuses on developing creative new ways to study jets of material launched from stellar-mass black holes in our galaxy and extract vital new information about black-hole physics,” says Tetarenko. “This program will further enhance the growth of the Canadian astronomy talent pool by training postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates, and have a wide-reaching impact in Canada and internationally.”

Tetarenko will receive $71,233 from the JELF for high-performance computing resources needed for her research lab.

Dr. Amy Mack investigates anti-democratic movements.

Mack, an internationally recognized researcher, speaker and writer in critical far-right studies and anthropology, uses an anti-fascist framework to research reactionary, anti-democratic movements. She leads several national research projects focused on the relationship between social media, disinformation and extremism. These projects explore how hate-based ideologies circulate online and manifest offine. She works closely with federal and municipal governments, frontline practitioners and communities to support efforts to counter hate, bias and extremism in southern Alberta. Her Countering Digital Extremism Lab, which provides research and skill-building opportunities for students and faculty, translates this academic knowledge into public-facing outputs that use new media technologies like podcasts, documentaries and social media campaigns.

“In an era of democratic backsliding and rising authoritarianism, we need to ensure that academic knowledge about the far right and other reactionary, anti-democratic movements is used effectively by stakeholders to disrupt radicalization and promote trust and social cohesion in our communities. This needs to be a whole-of-society approach that includes policy makers, tech companies, practitioners, educators, community advocates and the public,” says Mack.

Mack will receive $123,435 through JELF to set up her research lab.

ULethbridge PhD student Michelle Sylvestre named Trudeau Foundation Scholar for groundbreaking AI and equity research

trevor.kenney — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 20:18:46 +0000

Michelle Sylvestre (BFA – Art ’17, MFA – New Media ’21), a PhD student in the cultural, social and political thought program, has been selected as a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar — the first doctoral student from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to receive this prestigious recognition.

Sylvestre’s research, Intersecting Biases: Exploring Gender and Indigenous Representation in Artificial Intelligence to Promote Equity and Inclusion for Historically Underrepresented Communities in Canada, examines how AI systems reflect and reproduce systemic inequities. Drawing on a research-creation framework, she blends critical inquiry with artistic practice to explore the social impacts of emerging technologies and envisions more inclusive digital futures grounded in care, accountability and community engagement.

Michelle Sylvestre’s creative work spans traditional and digital media.

“This scholarship is an amazing opportunity for advancing inclusive technologies through creative, community-engaged research, guided by my work as a Researcher-in-Residence with the Niitsitapi Pod at CIART (Centre for Indigenous Art, Research, and Technology),” says Sylvestre.

Sylvestre is one of only 16 graduate students from a national pool of 686 applicants to receive the award, which provides up to $210,000 over three years, supporting tuition and research-related expenses, as well as access to a national network of interdisciplinary scholars and mentors.

A multidisciplinary artist and sessional instructor in the Faculty of Fine Arts Department of New Media at ULethbridge, Sylvestre’s creative work spans traditional and digital media, with a focus on the intersection of technology, craft and identity.

“My project examines the colonial and patriarchal biases within artificial intelligence (AI) large language models. Using a research-creation framework, I aim to critique AI while imagining futures built on a foundation of care, inclusion and accountability,” she says.

“This is an exceptional achievement for Michelle and the Faculty of Fine Arts,” says Heather Davis-Fisch, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. “Michelle has demonstrated excellence throughout her academic career — as an undergraduate, a master’s student, and now as a doctoral candidate. Her work exemplifies how rigorous research and creative practice can come together to address some of the most urgent social questions of our time.”

Dr. Jackie Rice, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, emphasizes that Sylvestre’s selection reflects both the strength of her research and the high level of support she is receiving as a doctoral student at ULethbridge.

“With more than 680 highly qualified applicants to this program and a rigorous selection process including in-person interviews, we are extremely proud that the Foundation recognized the excellent work that Michelle is carrying out and is providing funding that will help amplify the impact of her work,” says Rice. “We look forward to continuing to support her in her doctoral studies and are excited to see where this work takes her.”

As a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholar, Sylvestre joins a national network of outstanding researchers committed to advancing equity and social justice through their work. The Foundation, established in 2001 as a tribute to the former prime minister, supports the advancement of outstanding, cutting-edge doctoral research that will have meaningful impacts in our communities, institutions and beyond.

“Becoming a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholar is an exciting opportunity to collaborate across disciplines and to build lasting relationships with changemakers across Canada,” says Sylvestre.

PUBlic Professor Series to examine biases of web creators and strategies to advance cultural renewal

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 18:20:23 +0000

The web is an integral part of our digital lives and like all media, how websites are designed and developed reflects cultural values. This influences what we see and what we don’t see, what we can do there and what we can’t.

Melissa Shouting, left, and Christine Clark have been working together exploring the intersection of technology and cultural renewal.

On Thursday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m. at the Sandman Signature Lodge, Melissa Shouting (BHSc ’19) and Christine Clark (BFA – New Media ’10, MFA ’14) will explore how the web is being reshaped in Indigenous worldviews for cultural revitalization, renewal and relationship building in their PUBlic Professor Series talk — Weaving World Views: The Web as a space for cultural vitality.

Shouting and Clark have been working together the last five years exploring the intersection of technology and cultural renewal.

“All online spaces reflect the culture from which they are created. Values are embedded in content presentation and what options are available to us,” says Clark, an associate professor of Web Design and Development in the Department of New Media. “We might think that some social platforms like Facebook or Instagram are culturally agnostic because whoever uses the platform can choose what they post. But in fact, there are myriad little design decisions that these companies have made that encourage patterns of use. We end up becoming complacent with fitting ourselves into Instagram size boxes.”

Shouting, a registered member of the Kainai (Blood) Nation who holds a faculty position in the Faculty of Health Sciences, says their talk connects web design with health outcomes for Indigenous communities.

“Given how our digital identities are interwoven with our sense of self, it is important to establish a nurturing environment online and offline,” she says. “It begs the question, what do online spaces feel like when they are designed from different cultural perspectives? What can they feel like when they are designed to reflect Blackfoot cultural values?”

Clark’s research and creative practice are rooted in design collaborations that promote decolonization and environmental sustainability at local levels. She and Shouting, with many others, are currently working on the Mootookakio'ssin [MOO-DOO-KAK-IO-SIN] research project, an international collaboration exploring how to provide access to Blackfoot items held in museums in Europe using digital technologies, like photogrammetry, RTI and web-based interfaces.

“In our talk we’ll look at examples of how web technologies reflect the biases of those that make them, and ways that Indigenous people are reshaping the web in their own worldview.”

This is the fourth of the six-part PUBlic Professor Series of talks. Initiated in 2014, the monthly lecture series is designed to spark thought-provoking discussions and bring a diverse group of experts and researchers from the ULethbridge campus right into the community.

Check out the PUBlic Professor Series web page for the 2023/24 talk schedule, to register for priority seating or to join the series mailing list.

Foundations of New Media micro-credential now accepting registrations

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 20:41:20 +0000

A new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge micro-credential opportunity that will give learners the skills to thrive in the booming Alberta film industry and digital media world is now accepting students as it readies to debut in January 2023.

The new short-term, stackable, micro-credential offerings are designed for maximum flexibility. Individuals can take any of the five new modules separately as they gain badges of recognition, or as a cluster to achieve a Foundations of New Media Certificate of professional development. All programs will be offered exclusively online through the Department of New Media in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

“When designing these courses, we really wanted to meet the needs of our learners and what they were looking for in terms of adding skills and competencies to their existing knowledge. I think this becomes especially important for freelance or small business enterprises,” says Leanne Elias, Chair of the Department of New Media and one of the key developers of the program. “Each course is independent of each other, so students can choose whether they want to take them individually by interest or stack them together for a full certificate.”

Three courses will be offered in Spring 2023 and are four to five weeks in length. The suite of courses offers an introduction to the world of new media, with a focus on creating media that is engaging, relevant and meaningful. The series of modules combines theory and hands-on experience.

“They really are perfect for complete beginners or for those who have some experience with these mediums,” says Elias. “Students will learn to think critically about contemporary media culture and their own role as media users. They’ll also acquire foundational skills in visual design, web design, digital video storytelling and editing, digital culture and communication and mobile media production.”

The Alberta film industry generates around $550 million per year with the majority of the filming done in and around the Calgary area. As it continues to grow, so do opportunities for people with the skills sought after by filmmakers.

“New media is an expansive field with ever-changing needs,” says instructor Michelle Sylvestre, who also helped develop the curriculum and will be delivering the courses. “Whether a beginner or someone with experience, these courses are designed to provide opportunities for professional growth and improvement relevant to current and future markets.”

The Foundations of New Media Certificate program is designed for those who already work or aspire to work in digital media and film; who use creative software for digital marketing, web development or design; freelance or aspire to freelance in photography, video or web development design; run a small business where they are responsible for marketing or content development.

A free New Media Micro-Credential Information Webinar has been created for all those interested in learning more. It takes place Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 4 p.m.

The modules, available for registration at ulethbridge.ca/continuing-education, are as follows:

Foundations of New Media – January 11 to February 8, 2023 (Registration opens Dec. 15, 2022)
In this five-week course, learners will examine digital media theory and create digital media work using different software applications. Learners will acquire (or be taught) foundational skills in manipulating digital graphics and photography as well as post-production video editing.

Core Principles for Visual Design – February 22 to March 22, 2023
Introduction to design fundamentals and principles as they relate to new media. Concepts and practice of graphic design theory will be explored in relation to specific media such as print, web and other new media applications.

Digital Video Storytelling and Editing – May 3 to May 31, 2023
An introduction to the fundamental concepts and techniques of digital video production, with studies in aesthetics and sequence construction. Through the process of pre-production, production, and post-production students will utilize elements and principles of directing, cinematography and editing.

Introduction to Web Design — Fall 2023
An introduction to website design using current content management systems and online platforms with consideration to branding, design, layout and current web standards.

Digital Culture and Communication — Fall 2023
Online professional presence building in social media for future careers or creative goals through the implementation of practices and techniques for creating, improving and maintaining the publicly accessible aspects of an individual or organizational digital presence.

New media professor Leanne Elias awarded Board of Governors Teaching Chair

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 May 2022 17:34:39 +0000

An inspiring educator who finds ways to challenge her students while complementing their knowledge, new media professor Leanne Elias (BFA ’95, MEd ’03) is this year’s recipient of the Board of Governors Teaching Chair.

Elias plans to develop and deliver a series of interdisciplinary workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students with the goal of understanding how teaching changes when working with multiple disciplines and how students are impacted. While Board of Governors Teaching Chair, she also intends to bring together a community of practice for interdisciplinary teaching.

Elias will be presented with her award during the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s fall convocation ceremonies.

Leanne Elias

Leanne Elias

As a professor of new media, Leanne Elias not only inspires students to think creatively in her graphic design courses, she also approaches her teaching creatively, always finding ways to challenge students and complement their knowledge. She encourages them to explore and experiment with new media tools while focusing on relevant ideas.

Elias ensures her students have opportunities to maximize their learning through extra-curricular activities related to the profession. Twice she has led student fundraising activities to enable attendance at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Focused on emerging creative technologies, the festival draws the best creative minds in the world.

In addition, she has co-facilitated several interdisciplinary workshops for the Faculty of Fine Arts and was instrumental in bringing a series of award-winning animations to Lethbridge. Elias has also been a champion for the importance of teaching development in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. In 2012-2013, she was awarded a Teaching Fellowship from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Advancement for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Elias has become a facilitator for the Instructional Skills Workshop, a course designed to enhance teaching effectiveness for both new and experienced educators.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge unveils Mootookakio’ssin website, creates bridge to historical belongings

trevor.kenney — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:41:56 +0000

Utilizing the latest in web technology, the new Mootookakio’ssin website launched today creates a bridge that connects Blackfoot peoples to historical Blackfoot items housed in British museums, thereby reinvigorating a rich, cultural past through in-depth storytelling and laying a foundation to keep the knowledge of Elders alive for future generations.

Each item was photographed digitally to create 3D images for the website.

The culmination of an ambitious and challenging three-year research project, Mootookakio’ssin (moo-DOO-ka-keyo-sin) has brought together ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and United Kingdom (UK) researchers, three British museums, as well as graduate and undergraduate students, all led by Blackfoot advisors and Elders. The result is a stunning, engaging and interactive website that is now a part of the Blackfoot Digital Library and allows users to see and manipulate historical Blackfoot belongings while telling a story that truly brings them to life.

“We use stories to connect with one another and utilizing the story technique allows us to control the narrative about the item and how it is being delivered,” says Melissa Shouting (BHSc ’19), a member of Kainai Nation and a graduate student in the Faculty of Health Sciences. “Storytelling also allows us to

An example of a Blackfoot Awl Case.

showcase who we are as a People, and how we think collectively when it comes to our knowledge systems.”

Shouting is an accomplished beadmaker who, like many Blackfoot artists, can now utilize the incredible detail of the website to see the intricacies of the historical items to guide their own artistic practices. She was part of the delegation that travelled to Britain to document and photograph the historical items housed in British museums.

“One of the reasons I said yes to going there was because we weren’t just going to look at the items and keep that knowledge to ourselves, we were going there to eventually create this website that really illustrates who we are, and then deliver it back to our community,” she says.

A Blackfoot weapon, this Big Whip is part of the collection.

Blackfoot Elder Jerry Potts, a key resource throughout the project, says the significance of showing these belongings, some which date back to the 1700s, is immeasurable.

“Some of these items were from the first contact the Blackfeet had with settlers. The material we are looking at was developed before there was any trade, so they were made with quill work and natural dyes,” says Potts. “The Blackfoot People are so tied to nature and the landscape, so you look at these items and try to imagine what they saw. Our culture and our belief system are captured in this art — there’s a lot of value in that.”

Christine Clark (BFA ’10, MFA ’14), professor of new media in the Faculty of Fine Arts, says the group accomplished even more than it set out to with its initial proposal, thanks in large part to the cooperative nature of the project.

3D imagery is able to capture the incredibly fine detail of this Blackfoot Moccasin.

“We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to meet all our goals because there were so many unknowns,” she says. “The team dynamics were so important for this project because if any one piece had fallen off, the whole project would have fallen apart.”

Named by Elder Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) '72, DASc '04), Mootookakio’ssin translates to “distant awareness.” The aim is to connect people living in traditional Blackfoot territory with these non-sacred, historical Blackfoot belongings housed in British museum collections. While COVID-19 restrictions limited the workshopping and outreach activities the group had planned initially, they did allow for more intensive work on the website.

“Our primary goal was to design and build a custom site for the 3D material and involve as much storytelling as possible with each piece, and we were able to do that,” adds Clark. “We were also able to incorporate a feature called RTI (reflectance transformation imaging) where you can change the light source to reveal the surface detail on the items. This has definitely been the most multifaceted website I’ve worked on, and I was really lucky to have one of our recent graduates, Calvin Lloyd (BSc ’20), lead the development of this very challenging project.”

Potts sees the website as another small step forward in educating Blackfoot youth and non-Indigenous people alike on the roots of a rich culture, its resilience and how it continues to resonate even today.

“It’s very new and innovative thinking to try and capture this idea and this traditional knowledge and use it to build bridges and understanding,” he says. “It’s a pretty good start and it works because there was a will at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and with their researchers to make a difference and they had the right people in the room to give direction to the project. We’ve opened up some doors now with other ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and museums in Britain and that’s really exciting.”

Interactive website shows Albertans how the climate is changing in their backyard

caroline.zentner — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 16:37:03 +0000

As Alberta’s climate changes, the demand for practical information on climate extremes and their impact is increasing and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professors, Dr. Stefan Kienzle, (Department of Geography & Environment) and Christine Clark (Department of New Media), have found a way to meet that demand.

They developed an interactive website, albertaclimaterecords.com, four years ago and have now updated it to include observed weather records from 1951 to 2017, three future climate projections (2041 to 2070), and 55 climate variables, such as number of frost days, length of the growing season and rainfall extremes. With more than 100 high-resolution maps available for download, the website is of particular interest to farmers, ranchers, foresters, water-resource managers, infrastructure planners or anyone who wants to see how Alberta’s climate has changed.

“We need to be prepared for what’s happening and this is what the website’s about,” says Kienzle. “We want to inform Albertans about what’s going on in their backyard and how our weather patterns have changed. Then anyone can at least anticipate what weather patterns are occurring in their region now and in the future and adapt accordingly.”

The updated website is designed to provide key information for climate vulnerability assessment across Alberta. Users can pinpoint a location in the province and generate a wealth of weather information for that area.

“It is clearly getting warmer in Alberta and it’s getting warmer much faster than most of the rest of the world,” says Kienzle. “The average annual temperature in southern Alberta has gone up by one-and-a-half to two degrees and by two to over three degrees in northern Alberta. Winters are the key driver of this average annual warming. They have warmed by four to five degrees in the south and by six to seven degrees in the north since the 1950s.”

The Alberta climate is also increasingly variable with more extreme weather events and warm and cold spells.

“Under global climate change, we would expect that we would have an increase in heat waves and we have that,” says Kienzle. “We have two to four times more heat waves per year compared to the 1950s. Interestingly, cold spells have also increased by a factor of two to four.”

This fall has been a prime example of that increased variability and its impact on farmers. These weather swings present more risks to farmers, whether it means harvest cannot be completed or yields are lower due to lack of precipitation or increased heat stress on crops.

The good news for growers is that the growing season is longer, creating more flexibility in seeding and harvesting, although the date of last frost has not changed significantly. Farmers also have opportunities to grow a wider variety of crops due to more heat units in the air and higher temperatures. For example, currently farmers living in the Pincher Creek area cannot grow corn now because of a lack of heat units and a shorter growing season; that could change in the future.

A new feature of the website is future climate projections. Kienzle chose three climate models most relevant to Alberta to project the climate from 2041 to 2070. For southern Alberta, those projections show even warmer temperatures, a declining number of frost days and more summer days where the temperature is 25 C or higher.

While annual precipitation is projected to increase slightly, evaporation rates will strongly increase due to higher temperatures and a longer frost-free period, resulting in overall drier soil conditions. The trend is for more rainfall to fall on fewer days, increasing the risk of flooding causing severe damage, which has occurred more frequently in recent years.

Documentary film Visualizing Agriculture to premiere at Crossing Boundaries

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 16:47:25 +0000

What started as a class project became a creative collision of art and science on display. Fortunately, it was all captured on film. Visualizing Agriculture, a documentary co-directed by Leanne Elias (MEd ’03; BFA – Art ’95) and Bryn Hewko (MFA – New Media ’16), premieres at the Crossing Boundaries Symposium, October 26 at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Elias, Crossing Boundaries keynote speaker and Department of New Media professor, will premiere the documentary and discuss the collaborative efforts of artists and scientists in the work executed in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Data Physicalization Lab.

The film features the collaborative efforts of artists and scientists in the work executed in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Data Physicalization Lab.

With the desire to build a method for interdisciplinary research and creation, Elias and Department of Art faculty colleague Denton Fredrickson, took on the challenge of finding a way for art to play a role in the dissemination of scientific research data. They didn’t just want to use art to communicate science, they aimed to develop a method of cross-collaborative research and development that put scientists and artists from different disciplines in the same room, tackling the same project. This endeavour was the launch of the Data Physicalization Lab.

Data physicalization is a relatively new field of study. Data visualization can be understood simply as a bar chart, a 2D visual of information. Data physicalization takes that a step further, by mapping information to something that is physical, taking it off the screen and putting it into objects.

Inviting Art and New Media students to participate, research scientists from the Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provided a dataset for the students to analyze and visualize. Through semesters of engagement with this process, Elias and Fredrickson were able to develop an instructional pedagogy and creative practice.

“We wanted to make sure that the data was accurately represented in all the work so we knew the scientist needed to be an integral part of the critique process,” explains Elias.

The students and scientists participated in critiques every three weeks, allowing them to continuously adapt or recreate their works before the next critique. At first, the artists were engaging with the dataset alone. Eventually a student asked for more context, to see first-hand the research that provided the data. After visiting the research station, the work exploded.

“It became really, really good after that. It changed the concept of the data in their minds; they understood it and could ask questions about it because it was all visual,” says Elias. “Those visuals worked their way into the art and design work. From there, Denton and I knew that it was a key element in this interdisciplinary formula – it wasn’t enough to bring science to art. We had to take the art into the science as well.”

Dr. Leanne Elias is the Crossing Boundaries keynote speaker and a Department of New Media professor.

Each semester the process of working with different disciplines became clearer until Elias and Fredrickson were ready to take the idea one step further. Using the formula created, they joined forces with the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG), and with funding from Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) program of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, a professional artist residency, documentary film and exhibition was put into motion.

The results of this 18-month science-meets-art collaboration are produced in Visualizing Agriculture, a 20-minute documentary premiering at Crossing Boundaries, October 26 in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Recital Hall. With the help of the research funding, Bryn Hewko’s Output Media accepted the challenge of documenting the process from the first meeting through the final exhibition.

Six professional artists, Jackson 2Bears, Tori Foster, Mary-Anne McTrowe (BFA – Art ’98), Robyn Moody, Adrien Segal, and Michelle Sylvestre (MFA – New Media candidate; BFA – Art ’17), joined research scientists, Dr. André Laroche and Dr. Jamie Larson, for a weekend residency where they spent time at the research station analyzing two datasets around the genetic code of wheat. After the intensive residency, the artists returned to their own studios across Canada and the US.

“That's the period that Denton and I were really interested in because instead of having these check-ins every three weeks, now we were giving them the time to make their work. We were really interested in how much support they would need. How many times would they talk to the scientists? What were those conversations like? How often did they, or could they, return to the station for additional information?”

In February 2017, the Visualizing Agriculture exhibition opened at the SAAG, curated by Christina Cuthbertson (BFA – Art ‘05). “It was absolutely fascinating. All the artists approached it very differently… which you’ll see in the film,” teases Elias.

The documentary takes the audience through the whole process, from first meeting to the final exhibition highlighting the challenges and success of the facilitators, curator, artists and scientists. Filming any footage they could of the process and interviewing participants throughout project, the narrative came together as the exhibition did.

“This project was different than anything I’ve done before,” says Hewko. “Normally things are heavily scripted at the beginning, but here we didn’t know where it was going to go, so we just started filming and gathering interviews, and through the editing process we were able to find the real story.”

Audiences will be as surprised by the findings as Elias and Hewko were.

“I don’t want to spoil the documentary, but I think the key discovery for many of us was a changing definition of what data visualization or data physicalization is,” explains Hewko. “We had some expectation of what the artists might contribute, but what actually happened in a lot of cases was the artist’s reaction to the data. It wasn’t a direct representation, it was more of a reaction or a translation of the data. Their own processing of the information.”

See the final products from the artists, hear more from Leanne Elias on this interdisciplinary research method, and take in the premiere of Visualizing Agriculture during the keynote presentation at Crossing Boundaries. Purchase tickets online at ulethbridge.ca/tickets or by phone, Monday to Friday, 12:30-3:30 at 403-329-2616.

For a full schedule of activities and speakers visit go.uleth.ca/cboundaries.

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.

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