UNews - Arianna Richardson

The Canada Collection

david.kirby — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:55:03 +0000

Last summer, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge fine arts students –Arianna Richardson (BFA ’13), a Lethbridge artist, and David Smith, an emerging curator and intern in Art History/Museum Studies – worked together to create a travelling exhibition titled The Canada Collection.

This show was mounted at both the Forestburg and District Museum in Forestburg, Alta., as well as the Mountain View Museum and Archives in Olds, Alta. The exhibit examined the constructed nature of Canadian identity through the tourism industry, and how symbols of Canada have been produced in popular culture.

The exhibition featured a photographic series titled Frontier that had been created upon Richardson’s receipt of the Roloff Beny Foundation Fellowship in Photography Award in 2012. This series documented the presence of “Frontier” brand motor homes across the Prairies in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.

As a visible example of how Canadian identity has been marketed in relation to the wild and untamed landscape, the repeated encounters represent a reminder of a changing idea about what it means to be Canadian.

Also present in the exhibition were Richardson’s custom-made craft kits. Paralleling commercial sales in the tourism industry, her kits reflected the notion of a supply-and-demand model for the definition of “Canadian.” A custom pennant and make-your-own pennant kit were each created for the Forestburg installation with a portion of the proceeds going to the host museum. Similarly a finished lunch bag and self-assembled lunch-bag kit were produced for the Mountain View Museum and Archives in Olds. At both venues, her works and items from the collection generated plenty of conversation with the artist and among the visitors.

The exhibition derives its name from a third component that is the collected artifacts of Canadiana. Assembled from Richardson’s visits to thrift shops, yard sales and antique shops, the collection reflects both the serious and playful way that Canadian identity has been merchandised over many years.

Like moulted feathers found as traces of a bird, these objects represent ideas that may not be useful anymore and demonstrate the ever-changing nature of Canadian imagery.

The exhibition derives its name from a component that is the collected artifacts of Canadiana, such as these. (Image by Arianna Richardson (BFA '13))

Drawing inspiration from historic Canadian artists with a shared interest in the relationship between Canadian identity and landscape as well as more contemporary artists evaluating its shortcomings in a variety of media, Richardson’s work has precedent in the canon of Canadian art.

Presenting this exhibition in the museum (which is a key player in the tourism industry and the proliferation of regional identity) inspired viewers to witness the ideologies at work around them. In The Canada Collection, visitors were able to see the ways in which Canadian identity has been constructed through the variety of different approaches envisioned by Richardson.

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.

Student art awards announced

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:53:56 +0000

As part of the annual Art Student Open House, the Department of Art in the Faculty of Fine Arts presented student awards recognizing excellence in Art History/Museum Studies and Art Studio.

Awards and winners were as follows:

Southern Alberta Art Gallery Award – Christina Olson, Kasia Sosnowski

Students' Union Award – Lisa Spinelli

David Lanier Memorial Award – Kalen Hussey

Art History and Museum Studies Gallery Award – David Smith

Excellence in Art History and Museum Studies Award – Jennifer VanderFluit

Trapdoor Artist Run Centre Award – Evan Peacock

Excellence in Digital Art Award – Kasia Sosnowski

Excellence in Art Studio Award – Neysa Hale

Faculty of Fine Arts Award – Arianna Richardson

Studio Art Supplies Painting Award – Sarah Stringam

Art Department Purchase Prize – Bonnie Patton, Nicole Lalonde

Roloff Beny Award – Arianna Richardson, Nicole Lalonde

Art Department student awards announced

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:33:04 +0000

As part of its annual Art Studio Open House in April, the Art Department handed out its annual student awards.

Students receiving awards were as follows.

Jennifer Vanderfluit – Excellence in Art History/Museum Studies Award
Chad Patterson & Tyler Stewart – Art History/Museum Studies Gallery Award
Corinne Thiessen-Hepher – SAAG Award
Chad Patterson – Trapdoor Artist Run Centre Award
Bonnie Patton – Art Society Award
Allison Crop-Eared Wolf – Students' Union Award
Shannon Derry – David Lanier Memorial Award
Arianna Richardson – Excellence in Digital Art Award
Brenna Crabtree – Excellence in Art Studio Award
Katie Bruce – Faculty of Fine Arts Award
Sherry Yu Di – The Studio Prize

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Arianna Richardson

The Canada Collection

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