D.2 ROUNDTABLE Creative Practices in the Age of Coronavirus
Fri Oct 16 / 11:00 – 12:30
voice_chat expiredchairs /
- Holly Fay, University of Regina
- Sean Whalley, University of Regina
What now – royalty free image by tim-mossholder.
Covid-19 had us pivot and adapt to new working conditions. Artists are not exempt. Psychically distancing and stay at home directives left some artists without studio or community access. In addition, cultural organizations cancelled events and exhibitions are postponed or moved to a digital format. This roundtable session welcomes submissions from artistic practitioners (including grad students, faculty, sessional instructors and independent artists) with diverse voices and perspectives to discuss ways visual creative practices are and have evolved within this period of uncertainty and change. Panel topics include: Pressures and expectations placed on creative practices, plus strategies artists have adopted in making and disseminating art, including socially based practices and collaboration.
Holly Fay’s research has examined ecology and natural systems, phenomenology, ideas of place, the representation of nature and landscape, the Anthropocene and environmental disquietude. Exhibited nationally and internationally, her artwork is represented in public collections; including the Mackenzie Art Gallery, The Dunlop Art Gallery, City of Regina, and the Saskatchewan Arts Board Permanent Collection. Holly is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Media, Art and Performance at the University of Regina, teaching painting, drawing and professional practice, she holds an MFA from the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland and a BFA from the University of Regina.
Sean Whalley teaches sculpture in the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance at the University of Regina and is currently the MAP Associate Dean (Undergraduate). Between a BFA from York University and an MFA at the University of Regina, Sean studied the old-world technologies of blacksmithing and coopering. Given his interest in obsolete technologies, nostalgia and displacement play a primary role in the narratives he explores. Sean utilizes discarded/recycled materials for the bulk of his work in an attempt to realize a sustainable practice. Part of his teaching philosophy focuses on community development and encouraging students to realize their art practice beyond the classroom.
Raegan Moynes. Groundwork (sequester in progress), 2020, recycled clothing materials, polyester stuffing, quilting batting, thread.
Michelle MacKinnon. …and on August 5 2020, I attended a webinar, Watercolour on paper, 5.5x9”, 2020.
Sarah Fuller. Habitats and Camouflage. Photo: Tim Matheson.
panelists /
- Sarah Fuller, University of Manitoba
- Michelle MacKinnon, Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Raegan Moynes, University of Regina
- Julia Taffe, Aeriosa Dance Society
- François-Joseph Lapointe, Université de Montréal
Sarah Fuller is a Canadian artist who works across the mediums of photography, video and installation. She holds an MFA from the University of Ottawa and a BFA in Photography from Emily Carr University. Sarah has been an artist in residence at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Laughing Waters in Nillumbick Shire, Australia, the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture, Yukon, Fondazione Antonio Ratti, Italy, and the Association of Visual Artists (SIM) in Reykjavik, Iceland. Recent exhibitions include Terra Incognita at PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts, Winnipeg, and Refugio at the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery. In 2017 she was commissioned by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity to collaborate with Moment Factory on the site-specific installation Illuminations: Human/Nature. Sarah’s work is held in public collections including the Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank (Ottawa), the Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff), and Global Affairs Canada (Ottawa).
Michelle MacKinnon is an artist and educator living and working in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. MacKinnon is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in Drawing and Painting at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus, has also taught at Algoma University and York University, and graduated with an MFA and BFA in Visual Arts from York University. MacKinnon was recently published in Visual Arts News and on the cover for Riddlefence magazine, and is a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. She has participated in residencies and exhibitions internationally, most recently at Eastern Edge Artist Run Centre, with an upcoming exhibition the Grenfell Art Gallery and residency at CASA Lethbridge (2021).
Raegan Moynes is an MFA Candidate at the University of Regina. She holds a Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design from Ryerson University and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts from University of Regina and has lived and worked in Toronto, Vancouver and Regina. Her background in fashion and costuming inform her current artistic practice in soft sculpture and her choice of textiles and used clothing as primary material. Her work explores themes around the female body and her own pervasive emotional struggles with mental health.
Vancouver choreographer and Aeriosa artistic director Julia Taffe combines art, environment and adventure, making dance with architecture and on mountains, in nature and on stage, finding dynamic inspiration in the realm of suspension. Julia creates dance on earth in air, proposing unusual performance scenarios to artists and audiences alike. Her works meld artistic practice, technical innovation and thoughtful risk management to shift perspectives of natural social and built landscapes. Born in Toronto and raised in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon. Julia trained at Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Toronto Dance Theatre. Recently Julia was the Dancer-in-Residence at Memorial University and Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. She received the Canadian Dance Assembly Innovation Award in 2012. Julia is a former professional guide, mountain safety rigger and stunt performer. She attained Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Rock Guide certification in 1997.
François-Joseph Lapointe is an artscientist from Université de Montréal with a PhD in evolutionary biology and a PhD in dance and performance studies. As a scientist, he has published over 120 papers ranging from molecular systematics and population genetics to metagenomics. As an artist, he applies biotechnology as a means of creation, and has created the field of choreogenetics. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (USA), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – nature et technologies (FRQNT) and Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC). His work as a bioartist and performance artist has been exhibited at Musée de la civilisation (Québec), Transmediale (Berlin), SciArt Center (New York), Ars Electronica (Linz), Medical Museion (Copenhagen), Science Gallery (London), and Centre Pompidou (Paris), among other places.
