WINNIPEG, MB – A rich palette of local, national and international artists, activists, curators and cultural workers will descend on the UWinnipeg campus for the Art Building Community Symposium (ABC) from May 9-11, 2008. The symposium sponsored by The University of Winnipeg Institute for Women’s & Gender Studies, Global College and Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), is open to the public. This is an interdisciplinary symposium consisting of critical discussions, screenings, installations, interventions and performances.
Pressing issues such as poverty, the impacts of colonization, gender and racial inequalities, and the need to develop compassionate and caring communities of belonging will be discussed as well as how to engage the public in community issues and civic responsibilities through public art.
“This project launches new and exciting work of 11 local artists,” explained Roewan Crowe, Academic Director, Institute for Women’s & Gender Studies and Symposium Curator. “These artists express ways that art can transform neighbourhoods, foster a sense of community and belonging and enlist our imaginations to address real issues in the urban context. ABC will share art and experiences, conceive new projects and strategize about ways to create meaningful community through art.”
“The University of Winnipeg is pleased to be an integral part of this symposium that contributes to creating a dynamic cultural landscape for our city,” said UWinnipeg President & Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy. “Cultural engagement through the arts fosters the kind of broad creative thinking that is needed to address the social issues of our times. Projects like Art Building Community create an environment conducive to the development of imagination and innovation and lifelong learning.”
For information on artists and schedule please visit: http://www.mawa.ca/artbuildingcommunity.
To register for the ABC Symposium please go to http://www.mawa.ca/artbuildingcommunity/registration.html. The Symposium Fee is $65, which includes all meals and the Saturday night performance by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan. (Full and partial bursaries are available if the fee is prohibitive to your attendance and participation. To inquire about a bursary please contact Roewan Crowe at r.crowe@uwinnipeg.ca.)
Art Building Community welcomes children at the symposium. There will be an unsupervised activity area for children in Convocation Hall (the main room of the symposium). Subsidies for off-site childcare are available with advance request. Please contact Roewan Crowe at r.crowe@uwinnipeg.ca to request a subsidy.
The symposium is generously supported by the Winnipeg Arts Council, The Winnipeg Foundation and sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through a partnership with the University of Winnipeg’s Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies of the Global College.
