Theater students at Exposed, end of year performance, spring 2024.

Theatre courses at UBCO attract students from all faculties, many of whom have commented that these classes were the only places where they made friends, established a sense of community, and felt a sense of belonging.

To address these needs, Tracy Ross, a lecturer teaching performance and theatre courses in the Department of Creative Studies, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) has created the Public Theatre Project (PTP). This project aims to foster cross-faculty collaboration and build a sense of community, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and provide creative tools and outlets that contribute to student well-being.

“I started the project because of the feedback that I was receiving from students. They were expressing the value of learning to speak, and listening to one another, about being in dialogue and having a safe space to consider alternative perspectives,” says Ross. “Students want to engage with each other and the world and this project aims to provide students opportunities to work together across faculties so that they can do just that.”

Ross herself is a multi-disciplinary interdisciplinary artist and educator who ran her own theatre company for 10 years working with people of all ages.

“Working in the performance area for FCCS provides me with a unique opportunity to work with students from all across campus and to work in spaces where they can interact and create connection.”

Performance and communication skills such as body awareness, vocal expression, and creative problem solving are powerful tools for students of any discipline. The PTP initiatives are designed to engage students within various time frames that range from a 10- minute drop-in commitment, to one evening, to recurring drop-in sessions over one week.

This is a great opportunity for people to meet one another, engage in conversation, practice speaking on things that are important to them, to take positive risks in a supported environment, and to provide space for students to co-create, express and make connections, explains Ross.

“These are small interruptions in our daily busy lives that seek to improve well-being, connection, community and develop a sense of belonging,” she adds.

The PPT activities will include:

Voices Unleashed- Public Speaking Series

Voices Unleashed is an uncurated, monthly public speaking series open to all UBCO students, fostering a community of expression and connection. Each one- hour session, followed by coffee and treats for networking and discussion, provides a platform for students to share their stories, insights and what matters most to them. Students will have the opportunity to enhance their public speaking skills and listen to their peers. The event’s uncurated format was inspired by Ross’s classroom experiences, where students valued having a space for respectfully sharing and discussing opposing views.

This series will happen monthly, dates TBC. Students will have the opportunity to sign up on a first- come, first -served basis through email in advance to tracy.ross@ubc.ca.

Love Letters- Interactive Installation and Public Performance

Love Letters is an interactive art installation featuring a love letter booth. Participants begin by selecting a letter left for them from one of the mailboxes. They then enter the booth, read the letter, and choose their stationery to write a love letter in response, leaving it in the mailbox for the next person. Everything needed is either at the desk or found in your heart. I collect all the correspondence and turn it into a live reading—a conversation between “X” and “O.” This reading, open to all writers and invited audience members, takes place on a separate evening, bringing people together to engage in an event of their co-creation.

This event will happen on campus in February 2025.

One Day Choir

The One Day Choir initiative aims to bring people together through the power of song. Led by a skilled choral leader, participants will gather in a public space on campus, such as the stairwells in the Commons building, to learn and sing a pre-selected song. The music and song choice will be provided in advance, with the event’s date, time, and location announced to encourage participation. This inclusive event welcomes everyone, fostering a sense of community and harmony among participants.

This event will happen in December 2024 and April 2025.

If you have any questions about these events or want to get involved, please contact Tracy Ross, tracy.ross@ubc.ca

Theatre student, public speaking on stage

Love Letters booth, 2023

Sophia Caron (right), Aradhita Arora (centre), Chantal Gosselin (left)

It takes a dedicated team to run a project like Espaces francophones (EF) – a joint initiative between the Okanagan School of Education (OSE) and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) that aims to create a sense of community amongst UBCO’s French speakers.

EF was co-founded by Francis Langevin (FCCS) and Carl Ruest (OSE) with funding from Heritage Canada, and was launched in the fall of 2022. With that funding, EF was able to hire a contract communications coordinator, and two student-staff positions. The initiative is currently co-run by Francis Langevin (FCCS) and Jody Dlouhy-Nelson (OSE) and continues to have the two student-staff positions, with support from the communications offices in both FCCS and OSE.

Over the last two years, there have been more than 40 events and supported projects, both on and off campus, including French films, crêpe breakfasts, hikes in the area, creative writing workshops and musical entertainment. Our student-staff, Aradhita and Sophia, have been dedicated to helping to ensure the events run smoothly – and are fun for those that attend!

Read their stories to learn how they’re involved with EF, and advice they have for first-year students.

Student Profile: Sophia Cajon

Student Profile: Aradhita Arora

Kelly Yuste in 2023 at the Roman Colosseum, Italy

The stories behind why people create art have always fascinated undergraduate student Kelly Yuste. This curiosity led her to choose art history as her field of study. Yuste is of Chinese, Filipino and Canadian descent, spending the first 21 years of her life in the Philippines before moving to the lower-mainland with her family.

“Before my acceptance, I knew very little about the Okanagan Valley and the UBC Okanagan campus. Adjusting to this new environment took some time, but I have grown to love it here. Now, I am pursuing my studies in art history and embracing the opportunities and experiences here at UBCO.”

In the first art history classes Yuste took, she notes that ARTH 101 with Dr. Nathalie Hager introduced her to cultural hybridity and the interconnectedness of world civilizations through art. Upper-level courses with Dr. Antonella de Michelis, focusing on the Europe’s Renaissance and Baroque periods and its global art connections, challenged her to view art from a global perspective. Dr. Keshani’s ARTH 301 and ARTH 375 emphasized critical viewing and theoretical analysis, the latter deepening her understanding of South Asia’s Mughal Empire a its impact. These experiences highlighted the intricate cultural exchanges driving artistic innovation.

“The art history courses and instructors have profoundly shaped my understanding of this area, emphasizing the interconnectedness of global cultures and the ways in which art reflects these interactions.”

In addition to her studies, Yuste has taken part in other campus activities such as being part of the Asian Student Association (ASA), and completing a year of co-op education.

In her first year at UBC Okanagan, she joined the ASA initially working on the marketing for the club, and later becoming the club President. The club hosts numerous Asian-inspired events, such as the Lunar New Year Gala and House of Horrors, where they transform a campus building into a haunted house with themes rooted in Asian culture.

“Through the ASA, I found a sense of community and belonging, which was particularly important to me and other Asian students in the Okanagan. It allowed me to make friends and feel at home.”

For her year of co-op education, Yuste first worked as a Communications Assistant at the UBC Okanagan Student Union. Her responsibilities included creating engaging and informative content to promote the Student Union on social media, focusing primarily on producing short-form videos designed to inform students about the Student Union’s activities and important updates. For the summer of 2024, Yuste was able to find a role within the field of art history at the Fintry Estate as a Student Cataloguer, working to digitize and catalogue artifacts at the estate.

Yuste says that even at a young age, she always knew that art was something she was into, drawing, painting and taking pictures – a hobby that began for her when she was in the sixth grade, and she has worked over the years to developed her skills.

“I particularly enjoyed taking photos while traveling across Asia with my family and capturing school events. I became known among my friends and community as the person who always takes photos. These skills have greatly influenced how I curate my Instagram, which, although informal, is a platform where I express my art, thoughts, and feelings,” she says.

This experience in photography and social media curation has also enhanced her ability to frame and compose videos for her role at the Student Union and other personal projects.

Looking ahead, Yuste says she is open to any opportunities that align with her interests, noting that her ultimate goal would be to become a curator.

“Through one of Natalie Hager’s classes, ARTH 320, Art in Canada, I learned the significant role curators play in setting standards for what is represented in art and society,“ Yuste remembers. “In one assignment, I wrote a hypothetical acquisition report, which demonstrated how curatorial decisions can influence what is deemed important in the art world.”

She adds that this experience has inspired her to pursue a career where she can contribute to shaping cultural and artistic narratives.

“Overall, my involvement in the Asian Student Association and my passion for art history and photography have significantly shaped my university experience and aspirations. They have helped me develop a strong sense of community, enhance my artistic skills, and clarify my future career goals.”

Experiential learning engages students in ‘learning by doing’ via direct experience and focused reflection. In ARTH 460, a fourth-year Art History and Visual Culture course on Public Art taught by Nathalie Hager, students were able to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and better connect theories and knowledge from the classroom to real-world situations. Through a combination of on-site walking tours, class presentations, critical reflection journaling, and a final project that asked students to step into the shoes of the curator for UBC’s public art collection, students had the opportunity to apply what they had learned about the theory behind public artworks and their connection to the community. Each week students spent one day in the classroom, discussing various theoretical readings and North American public art case studies, and listening to guest speakers connect their work with/on various model public art projects across the Okanagan and beyond in a practical, tangible way to highlight public art as social practice. The second day was spent outside and on-site in downtown Kelowna and Rutland, Westbank First Nations, and Penticton, looking at original artworks in-situ and taking turns presenting their research on individual works.

“The course is designed to be both informative and fun, combining key readings that examine the conceptual framework for what public art is, how artists are engaged, and how public art projects are produced in the North American context, with practical experience and knowledge of the public art administration field,” explains instructor Nathalie Hager. “The final project—a 1000-word ‘call for proposals’ for a new work for UBCO’s Outdoor Public Art Collection —allows students to bring together the big ideas of the course in a practical, professional deliverable.”

Images below show students on a few of the cultural art tours for the course in 2022 and 2023.

Early in the course, students tour key public artworks on campus, managed by the UBC Okanagan Gallery, and review UBCO’s policies guiding the acquisition of public artworks. The UBCO walking tour was the class’s first introduction to looking at art, and reinforced the importance of slow-looking and description. The image below shows the students looking at Story Poles, in the courtyard area on campus on a tour offered by UBC Okanagan Gallery summer students in 2023.

sn̓ilíʔtn, a permanent installation by Syilx artist Les Louis and co-funded by the ONA and UBC, was erected in September of 2016 in the central courtyard on campus to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of UBC Okanagan and the UBC Centennial.

Nancy Holmes met the class at the Kelowna Public Art Pollinator Pasture to highlight the many successes, and also various ‘failures’, of the project including the lasting lessons and legacies of her and Cameron’s work to bring together various community stakeholders, including the City of Kelowna. A key theme was the stark contrast between the Kelowna experience (pasture is now ‘defunct’, abandoned by the City of Kelowna and ‘taken back’ by nature) and the Richmond Pasture (vibrant, ongoing, responsibility and funding assumed by the City of Richmond). Nancy showed the class some of the educational resources that were used to ‘teach’ engaged pasture visitors about the many, many different pollinators and plants key for the project.

Kelowna Public Art Pollinator Pasture is on City of Kelowna property at the Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage site near the corner of Leckie and Dilworth roads in the heart of Kelowna.

The class connected with students working on the 2022 mural at the Pandosy site, Painted Turtle. David offered the students his thoughts on public muralling in the age of Instagram, the epitome of social practice, and students had the opportunity to observe mural making in progress and ask questions of both David and the students completing the mural.

This mural is located 2820 Pandosy St., and the design features a large western painted turtle, showing it as the sun sets in a very calm surreal setting.

In 2023, students went on walking tours in the Okanagan, and were asked to complete a reflection journal on each walking tour articulating their thoughts on how the City of Kelowna connects with its various publics, and how works connect to community and to one another. Student Isaac O’Connor, is shown below discussing his research on Fruit Stand, and presenting to the class.

“The walking tour of Kelowna’s Cultural District looked at public art depicting the community of Greater Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley. Artwork such as the “Elemental” depict the togetherness of the Syilx people and the settlers that reside here. I personally loved the Fruit Stand, as it reminds me of my childhood.”

Fruit Box is a whimsical tribute to Kelowna’s agricultural history consists of 7 concrete and terrazzo fruit forms on 5 benches, accompanied by mosaics of vintage fruit box labels, by artists Glen Andersen and T.S. Thomas.

Isabelle Macedo presented her research on Bear. Some of the questions from students centered around the identity of the artists selected for public art commissions, and, in the case of Bear and other waterfront artworks, costs and controversies.

“I worked in Downtown Kelowna for years, and today I realized that I have never taken a moment to look at all of the public art that is Downtown and, even more specifically, the Cultural District. I found it very interesting that all of the art we looked at was not done by any Kelowna artists and, even more so, that only a few artists were even Canadian.”

Bear is a tribute to Kelowna’s settlement on the shores of Okanagan Lake. The theme of the artwork is a grizzly bear, “Kelowna” being an English translation of the Okanagan / Syilx First Nation word for “grizzly bear”.

Some students were not at all aware of the existence of Kasugai Gardens, and some had even never been downtown. It was a new concept to ask many students in the class to consider the gardens as art, and to begin to think of the ways in which the space invites the community to think wider than the city itself, towards other cultures and our connections. Here, Muneeba Sheikh presents the gardens.

“The Kasugai Gardens also happen to hold a special place in my heart mostly because of the koi pond. However, a classmate’s silent effort to meditate in that beautiful space was touching to witness, especially since North American Japanese Garden Association refers to it as ‘a pleasant and relaxing environment for quiet reflection’.”

Kasugai Gardens is located within a walled enclosure east of Kelowna City Hall, near the Queensway Transit Exchange.

Students were asked to consider how Natural Language connects to location (outside the Library), and also some of the practical aspects of public art design: it was a warm day, and students learned that on a very hot day the metal sculptures were dangerous to the touch. Kyla Haddad presented her research on this sculpture.

“Within Kelowna’s Cultural District a variety of public art can be found along the waterfront, in between buildings, and on the roads. Although each piece is unique, the artworks all represent themes of identity, culture, and connection. I believe these pieces were well-connected to the central themes of identity, culture and connection while simultaneously showcasing Kelowna’s rich diversity and history. I believe the artists curated these pieces thoughtfully as they were not only functional, but also interactive and informational. I believe successful art allows the viewer to be engaged, educated, and is a source for communication and connection.”

Natural Language consists of 2 works: a functional spiral bench and a rotating 3.7m tall mobius, both made of cast stainless steel. The bench is enhanced with representations of biological diversity and the mobius features letters and symbols derived from the world’s alphabets, by artists Jennifer Macklem and Kip Jones.

After a visit to the Kelowna Art Gallery, the class stepped outside to view this new addition to public art, one commissioned not by the City but by the municipal gallery. Taz Hussein presented Jed Lind’s Gold, Silver & Lead and the work’s commentary on the city’s car culture.

Located outside of the Kelowna Art Gallery, at the corner of Water Street and Cawston Avenue, this installation features seven abstracted car bodies stacked vertically in a minimalist form.

In May 2023, the class visited the Uptown Rutland Murals and received a behind-the-scenes walking tour by Sara Richardson, a student employee of the Uptown Rutland Association (URA), and BFA student taking the Public Art Class, who regularly led tour groups through the various Rutland murals. Sophie Harms reflected on the mural waling tour:

“After encountering various murals of uptown Rutland (funded in the form of a BIA), I found myself enamored by the vibrance and community-driven ethos of this overall project. Rutland is a highly stigmatized neighborhood known for low-income housing and crime; and as one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Kelowna, it can appear rundown. Rutland is also highly diverse, and these murals– especially Ogopogo + Friends by Mono Sourcil, Boost by Taka Sudo, Full Circle by Sandeep Johal, and Colourful Animals Mural by Nick Sweetman highlight this. Ogopogo + Friends presents a tapestry of diverse Rutland-dwellers— each living their own lives in tandem. The piece avoids overly problematic ideas of humanism (ie. “I don’t see colour”) by overtly presenting the limitless possibilities of diversity.”

Students in front of Spirit of the Lake by Nick Sweetman. This work was inspired by the legend of the Ogopogo, a sacred water being which originates from Syilx and Secwepemc story telling.

Students in front of Boost by Taka Sudo. Mashed up urban/city elements and natural/organic elements create the piece.

Students visited the City of Penticton Sculpture Exhibition in June 2023. Asana Hughes reflected on the Penticton Walking Tour:

“On our journey to observe the public artwork of Penticton, we stopped and discussed a total of eight sculptures. Many of the artworks were part of the City of Penticton’s Public Sculpture Exhibit, an annually rotating collection of sculptures on the lakefront and downtown area. Many of the sculptures were linked through the idea of transitions and nature.”

Intersect by Karl Mattson. The Artist has used steel, stone and found objects to demonstrate coexisting, intersecting elements between human and nature.

GIGASPIDER by Ron Simmer. This GIGASPIDER is a whimsical and colourful pop art installation that is 100% upcycled from scrap auto parts, a compressor tank, resin ball and used pipe. It incorporates two small solar panels that illuminate the red LED eyes at night.

Natural Transitions by William Frymire. The piece is comprised of aluminum rings welded together with colorful acrylic panels that are etched with individual textures and patterns that represent nature on the bottom and a transition to digital as we go up.

It is through the hands-on aspects, the learning by doing—the walking tours and critical reflections, and then researching a drafting an original call for proposals for a unique public artwork that connects with our campus community—that students are able to assimilate new experiences with previous ones, and transform their learning. Take for example one student’s final project proposing a collaborative public artwork and related interpretation and programming focusing on the vast aquifer upon which the UBC Okanagan campus sits—namely, on the unceded and ancestral territory of Syilx Okanagan Nation. Drawing upon their deep respect for Syilx knowledge, rights, and leadership, and engagement with UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan, course readings, guest speakers, and the artists and artworks from the various site visits, the student proposed an initiative that would ‘further Syilx values, knowledge systems and language about siwɬkʷ and nixʷtulaʔxʷ tə siwɬkʷ through partnerships and collaboration.’

“This is what experiential learning is all about, taking what you love to learn about and applying it, to actively engage, pose questions, investigate and experiment, be curious, creative, and solve problems. All to construct meaning,” says Hager.

Brianna Ferguson

Brianna Ferguson completed her BA in Creative Writing in 2026, and her MFA in Creative Writing in 2022, both at UBC Okanagan. In 2021, Mansfield Press published her first book of poetry, A Nihilist Walks into a Bar. Her second book of poetry, Poor Substitute, was published by Acid Bath in 2024.

She is a writer and educator from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. She holds a Master of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts from UBC. Her poems and stories have appeared in various publications across North America and the U.K.

We met with Brianna to discuss her first book and to get some insight on her writing process.

Tell us about your collection of poetry.

Several of the poems did come from a creative partnership with one of my colleagues in the MFA program, Andisha Sabri Carey. During the program, we started up a Twitter hashtag, PoToGo (Poetry to go) and challenged each other to tweet a new poem every alternating day for a month. Several of the poems I wrote during that time made it into the book. Another poem in the collection even came from a writing prompt created by a few of my colleagues in one of their classroom presentations. They had this beautiful presentation about water and how it factors into various works they were interested in. They prompted us to write about water, so of course I wrote about the playground conversations my friends and I used to have about how water is only ever recycled, so at one point all the water in our bodies was probably dinosaur urine.

What was your process in writing the book?

This collection, like so many other first collections, took shape over nearly a decade of writing and publishing and struggling along. Eventually, after years of writing, I realized a lot of my work tended to meditate on mortality and beer. There’s a book, I thought to myself, and here we are.

What was your experience working with an editor and publisher?

Working with Stuart Ross was a dream. As an editor, he who wasn’t afraid to tell me if he hated something or to cut whole sequences, and it was exactly the experience I always craved as a writer. Honestly, it was probably the most rewarding creative experience I’ve ever had. Nothing motivates me like tough love.

In terms of publication, I got really lucky. I sent my manuscript out to several publishers in January 2021, as part of my New Year’s resolutions, and by late February I had an acceptance from Mansfield. I only found Mansfield after seeing Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things and falling in love with the poem “Bonedog” which featured in it. I looked up the poem, found the author, found her publisher, and the rest is history.

Tell us about your time at UBCO as a student.

Being an undergrad at UBCO was easily one of the happiest times of my life. I spent six years after high school desperately wanting to go to school and worrying my high school grades wouldn’t allow me to without a bunch of upgrading. High school was the worst time of my life, and it showed in my grades. I finally applied, though, and managed to squeak in.

Right off the bat, I had Creative Writing 160 with Michael V. Smith, who immediately gave me the perfect blend of academia and friendship. I’m indebted to him for really honing my writing and cheering me on from day one. He’s a rare gem among human beings. Anderson Araujo was another prof whose classes I’d have given an arm to attend. He knows his stuff so completely, and he’s got so much passion for his material; I could listen to him for hours, probably even without a coffee on hand. Jennifer Gustar, Lisa Grekul, Matt Rader, I mean good lord – there are so many amazing people here.

You are teaching a first-year creative writing class here at UBCO this fall. How did you know you wanted to teach?

Loving UBCO as much as I do, professor-poet is the only job I’ve ever really wanted. I got my Bachelor of Education when I was living in Vancouver a few years back, so I could start to understand the profession – and of course, so I’d always have something to fall back on. I never dreamed I’d actually get to teach at UBCO, because why should I get exactly what I want? But then Matt Rader called me up one day and asked me to teach CRWR 160. If it weren’t for that call, I’d still be fretting away like I did before I applied to my BA. I only hope, now that I’m here, that I can do for my students what Michael and so many other profs did for me. Michael always let me write what I wanted while showing me how I could tweak it to appeal to a larger audience, or to hone the language. Never more than that. He let me splash around and learn things for myself, and it’s that teaching style that I want to bring to my own students. I don’t want to stifle anyone or try to make them into versions of my own creative self. I just want to create a space where people can be comfortable sharing ideas and having fun with writing. Writing is life, of course, but it’s also just writing. Nothing good ever came from taking things too seriously.

Brianna Ferguson at her book launch, April 2022, at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art

Bachelor of Media Studies students (left to right): Sarah McNeil, Matthew Kenney, Bethany Hiebert, Jaine Hillier, Xavier Charbonneau, Kai Hagen

At the convocation ceremony held on June 6^th, a number of faculty and staff in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies attended the ceremony, proud to congratulate all of the students who completed their degrees in 2024.

This year we have eighteen masters students, two doctoral students, fifty-five Bachelor of Arts students, twenty-five Bachelor of Fine Arts students, and eleven Bachelor of Media Studies students who are graduating with their degrees.

Dean Bryce Traister congratulated all of our graduates: “As new graduates, your endeavors will enrich our communities by sparking new conversations, challenging existing norms, and inspiring change.”

After the ceremony, a reception was held in the Creative and Critical Studies building for all of the FCCS graduates and their guests to continue the celebrations of the day. Diana Carter, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in FCCS raised a glass to toast this year’s graduating class and their families:

“Today is a very special day when we get to celebrate our students’ achievements and congratulate them on their graduation. You have persevered and worked extremely hard to get to this day and finally graduate with your undergraduate, masters or doctoral degree. Congratulations to you and to all the important people in your life for the support they have shown you over the years. We are proud of you all and are excited to see what you go on to accomplish in your lives after university.”

FCCS is also pleased to recognize the achievements of the following graduating or continuing students who received awards for their outstanding academic performance this year:

• Bibek Adhikari, Cambell Family Graduate Award in Fine Arts
• Lindsay Baerg, Jessie Ravnsborg Memorial Award
• Maddy Bohnet, Asper Scholarship
• Maritza Botha, Art History and Visual Culture Scholarship
• Carmen Bouvier, Visual Arts Prize
• Chandler Burnett, Dean’s Award in Artistic Excellence
• Taylor Carpenter, Visual Art Scholarship; Visual Arts Prize; SOPA Fine Arts Emerging Artist Award
• Xavier Charbonneau, Dean’s Award in Artistic Excellence
• Aditri Chatterjee, International Award
• Ronnie Cheng, Media Studies Award
• Ella Cottier, Elinor Yandel Memorial Award in Fine Arts
• Mihai Covaser, French Scholarship
• Liam Davidson, Media Studies Award
• Katja Ewart, Visual Arts Prize
• Kailee Fawcett, Vernon Film Society Media Prize
• Cole Finley, Jack and Lorna Hambleton Memorial Award
• Talia Gagnon, Murray Johnson Memorial Award in Visual Arts
• Cady Gau, Craig Hall Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship in Printmaking
• Madeline Grove, International Award
• Mason Harrison, Languages Scholarship
• Bethany Hiebert, Media Studies Award
• Jacob Hill, English Scholarship
• Jaine Hillier, Medal in Media Studies
• Samantha Hodge, Creative Writing Scholarship
• Tamara Hudson, Creative Studies Transfer Prize in Creative Writing
• Asana Hughes, Doug Biden Memorial Scholarship in Visual Arts
• Kaito Hyde, Cultural Studies Scholarship
• Arthur Pielecki, Okanagan Visual Arts Scholarship; Medal in Fine Arts
• John Prendas, Asper Scholarship
• Maren McIntosh, Kelly Curtis Memorial Scholarship in English
• Ainslie Spence, Dr. Shelley Martin Memorial Scholarship
• Jaclyn Stuart, French Essay Prize
• Fredrik Thacker, Frances Harris Prize in Fine Arts
• Helena Theben, Dean’s Award in Artistic Excellence
• Victoria Verge, Audain Travel Prize
• Ziv Wei, Norma and Jack Aitken Prize in Visual Arts

The FCCS Dean’s Honour list recognizes students in all years of the BA, BMS, and BFA degrees, who are at the top of their class with a GPA of 85% or better.

BACHELOR OF ARTS STUDENTS

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS STUDENTS

BACHELOR OF MEDIA STUDIES STUDENTS

MFA Students Miracle Adebayo, Bibek Adhikari, and Thomas Leveen

FCCS Faculty members congratulating our students

FCCS Faculty members congratulating our students

Nancy Holmes as Macebearer for our ceremony

BFA students Ziyang Wei and Wayne Xie

Graduation ceremony

FCCS celebration after convocation

Raising our glasses to the class of 2024

Dr. Marianne Legault with BA graduate, Elizabeth MacDonald

Dr. Jennifer Gustar (centre) with MA English graduating students Tafannum Karim, Brianne Christensen and Dravida Huda

Dr. George Grinnell with MA English graduate, Brian Kerr-Bassett

Dr. Megan Smith (left) with Yujie Gao, PhD graduate form the Digital Arts & Humanities theme

Dr. Annie Wan with BMS graduate Tsz Lo Ronnie Cheng

MFA candidates Jessie Emilie Schmode and Troy Teichrib presented their final year thesis exhibitions at Lake Country Art Gallery from May 18 to July 14, 2024.

Jessie Emilie Schmode’s exhibition is titled, Spiritual Growth: The Unapologetic Nude: A compelling exploration of introspection through large-scale portraiture. Exploring the impact of religious teachings on women’s bodies, embarking on a journey towards empowerment through painting. This exhibition challenges conventional perceptions of the female nude, reimagining it through a feminist perspective influenced by the healing essence of nature (Biophilia) and the acceptance of imperfection (Wabi-sabi). Historically, depictions of nudity in art have been dominated by male perspectives, relegating women to mere muses and objects for male expression. Over the past two years, a dedication to a series of paintings confronts and redefines the portrayal of the female nude, aiming to ignite conversations about breaking free from societal and religious constraints on female representation.

Students viewing Jessie’s work in the exhibition, Lake Country Art Gallery

Departures: Bridging the Gap by Troy Teichrib was an exhibition of boldly painted urban graphic abstraction that bridges artistic boundaries. This new work highlights the spontaneous and raw nature of graffiti art, this body of work includes small to large mixed-media paintings, each a testament to Teichrib’s efforts in translating graffiti’s fleeting beauty and raw energy within the gallery’s structured confines. This methodical yet chaotic process of uncovering and reviving elements from dense chunks of accumulated graffiti is a meditation on ego, ownership, and the impermanence of art. By overlaying and then meticulously removing layers of his own work, he confronts the challenge of disassociating from the personal motifs and styles that have defined his artistic identity. This practice of revisiting buried history becomes a dialogue between creation and destruction.

Troy’s work in the exhibition, Lake Country Art Gallery

During the course of the exhibition, both artists hosted artists talks and workshops.

On Friday May 24th, Jessie and Troy did a hands-on workshop with 34 fine arts students from George Elliot Secondary School (GESS). The morning started off with artist talks by both Jessie and Troy, then stencil making in the gallery and outside painting the Town Wall with Troy, followed by lunch.

“The students really enjoyed it, especially the spray painting. It is always great to connect the high school with the university,” says Wanda Lock, Lake Country Art Gallery Curator.

Jessie Emilie Schmode giving her talk to GESS students

Jessie Emilie Schmode giving her talk to GESS students

GESS students painting the Town Wall with Troy Teichrib

GESS students painting the Town Wall with Troy Teichrib

On June 8th, Troy, under the name Eyefactory, hosted fish:BOWL at the Lake Country Skateboard Park, which was a community celebration that bridges generations through the power of graffiti.

We are greatful to the Lake Country Art Gallery for showcasing the work of these two MFA students.

Troy at the fish:BOWL event at the Lake Country Skatepark

Troy at the fish:BOWL event at the Lake Country Skatepark

Troy at the fish:BOWL event at the Lake Country Skatepark

Dr. Alex Berry

Dr. Alex Berry is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at UBCO’s FEELed Lab, where she is supervised by Dr. Astrida Neimanis. Alex’s research is titled, ‘Uncommoning sense: Feeling a changed climate in early childhood teacher education’.

Alex’s postdoctoral research seeks to knot early childhood pedagogies with the feminist environmental humanities, toward new ways of ‘sensing’ uneven, everyday climate realities in the early years. Centering the FEELed Lab’s commitment to climate and social justice as deeply entangled pursuits, her project engages early childhood education students in attuning to how particular bodies sense and feel climate change in particular places. In response to the expansive overwhelm of climate catastrophe discourse in BC, Alex’s project uses small, artistic experiments to question the ‘common sense’ ways we think children experience nature.

“As many early years scholars have argued before me, early childhood education has been characterized by colonial and neoliberal ideas of humans as bodies that sense the world in rational and autonomous ways. Early childhood’s persistent pedagogical reliance on visual ways of knowing, and a dependency on developmental psychology’s ‘5 senses’ (as individual, intrinsic, and divided) are a few examples of this. Children with magnifying glasses in hand setting out to discover the wild unknown, and the ‘freedom’ of children’s sensorial fun getting messy outdoors are all-too-familiar images that reinscribe a settler colonial view of the world.”

Alex suggests that these prevailing understandings of the senses in early childhood produce educational practices that separate children from the damaged worlds they inherit. She hopes that her research might make a modest contribution to the ongoing efforts of early childhood scholars who are trying to shift these conditions – specifically, Alex’s work is interested in thinking alongside early childhood education students in re-imagining the senses for times of pressing environmental precarity. Through artistic and embodied methods, she is exploring how early childhood pedagogies might approach human sensoria as intercorporeal, and embedded with non-human networks.

A central focus of Alex’s project has been the creation of an experimental, online and place-based course for pre- and in-service educators across BC, titled ‘Sensing a changed climate in early childhood’. The course is curated around a series of ‘micro’-workshops, invited speakers, and on-the-ground experiments for ‘uncommoning’ the senses. Alex shares how curation of the course experiences has involved many rich ‘behind the scenes’ collaborations; “The course itself has emerged from a deeply collective and cross-disciplinary labour with researchers, community-members, and artists at UBCO’s FEELed Lab, the Faculty of Critical and Creative Studies, the Faculty of English and Cultural Studies, and Capilano University’s Centre for Research in Childhood Studies. Envisioning and creating the course alongside people from fields beyond my own has generated an incredibly hospitable ground for pushing early childhood’s disciplinary framings beyond its status quo. I am extremely inspired by (and grateful for!) the generous intellectual spaces these dialogues have afforded.”

The course launches this May, and will be followed by a virtual exhibition of student processes and an open-access archive of anti-colonial, arts- and place-based teaching resources.

About Alex Berry

Alex obtained her Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies with the Faculty of Education at Western University on Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Chonnonton Nations lands. Within postqualitative framings, Alex’s research puts into conversation research-creation and pedagogical inquiry toward anti-colonial early childhood pedagogies that respond to 21^st century ecological crises. This orientation has energized her pedagogical work in early childhood spaces in North and Latin American contexts, as well as her curatorial work in two international exhibits, Disorientating the early childhood sensorium: Micro-interruptions for alternative climate futures and Plastic childhoods: Noticing toxic intra-dependencies in Andean early childhood.

Left to right: Maylyn Tarves, Tyler Finley, Elenna Hope, Debbra Mikaelsen, Dania Wilson, and Shelley Wood.

The finalists of the 26th annual Okanagan Short Story Contest were announced at a public event by local author Shelley Wood. The event was held on March 27th at the Alternator for Contemporary Art with each of the writers reading a part of their story.

“Each of the shortlisted stories had something special about them and I had a very difficult time whittling my choices down to three. Many submerged me in new predicaments or uncomfortable scenarios and made me feel them deeply, which is what the best fiction does for us—makes us connect,” says Wood. “I hope every single writer who made this list will keep writing, and keep honing their work.”

The winning author, Debbra Mikaelsen of Penticton, took first place for her short story “Saving Bees from Drowning”.

“I loved the story-ness of this story—it took me somewhere, with someone believable, and did so using all of the options open to the form: simple, striking images, real—and often funny—dialogue, characters that came off the page with just the right, precise details, and deft use of an intimate and self-deprecating third-person point of view. I turn to fiction to be startled and moved and jolted into other lives and perspectives, but I realize I must also turn to it for hope. This story was sweet and sad but ultimately hopeful: I fell for its characters and was rooting for them,” explains Wood.

Tyler Finley placed second with “The Trick to Holding Your Breath for Years”.

Wood says about Finley’s story, “The Trick to Holding Your Breath for Years pulls off several tricks, chief among them its mastery of second-person format that manages to invite readers into the deepest folds of a relationship, while still holding them at a distance. The repetition of the ‘you’ which launches almost every paragraph creates an intimacy that becomes the story’s heartbeat. The glimpse the reader is given here serves as a reminder that loving anyone deeply is its own airless dive, carrying the near constant risk of pain and drowning.

Third place went to Elenna Hope from Nelson for her story, “My Date With a Cowboy”.

“My Date With a Cowboy won me over with the confidence of the voice, so increasingly at odds with the narrator’s own flagging sense of self. I laughed and I cringed. We can feel the hot pulse of desire in this writing even as the night starts to turn from bling to blurry. The writing is sharp and funny and visceral, with a tender underbelly. I left this story sweaty and aching with blisters on my heels, and my heart,” says Wood.

Wood noted that she really struggled with choosing among the high school submissions decisions because so many have a powerful story working on multiple levels, “And I love plot, I love motion, even in a short story. Many of the stories, to me, had the makings of novels and my hope is that all of the writers who submitted here will give some thought to spinning some of these action-packed stories into longer pieces, even novel-length works.”

Honourable mention went to Dania Wilson from West Kelowna for her story, “Bradford”.

“This story resonated with me on the level of keen observation and plotting. I enjoyed the scene breaks and the subject matter was close to my eco-cynical heart. What stood out for me here was the great ending, which is hard to pull off–this elevated this story above the other great contenders.”

And finally, the winner of the high school category went to Maylyn Tarves from Nelson BC for her story, “Philosopher King of Clusterf**k Mountain”.

“Ultimately, for the winning story, I went against a lot of what I just said and story, motion, and plot. This was the story that, to me, had the most original images, that painted a mood and an emotion so forcefully that while part of me wanted more to ‘happen’ I also felt I was in the hands of someone who knew how to use words to travel while holding completely still.”

The annual contest, organized by the Creative Writing program in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS), is a writing competition open to fiction writers in British Columbia’s Southern Interior. Writers submit their stories, which are then read, anonymously, by faculty, and the shortlisted stories are sent to a guest judge to choose the winners in the adult and high school categories.

The first-place writer received $1,000 plus a one-week retreat at The Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre in Kelowna; second-place winner received $400 and third-place received $200. The top high school student received a $200 prize. Co-sponsors of the contest are FCCS and the Central Okanagan Foundation.

View the full short list for this year’s contest.

Samantha Carron receiving her PhD , University of Calgary

Samantha Carron is a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Dr. Marianne Legault, Department of Languages and World Literatures, here at UBC Okanagan. She is an alumna from UBC Okanagan with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in French and Spanish (2014), she has a Master of Arts (MA) in 17^th century French Literature from the University of Calgary (2017) and a PhD in 17^th century Women’s Literature from the University of Calgary (2023).

Her research is titled « L’Autre, c’est moi » : la fluidité du je travesti dans le discours romanesque du XVIIe siècle

Samantha shared with us some information about her research and affiliation with UBC Okanagan.

How is your postdoc connected to UBCO?

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies is home to many talented and motivated researchers and students who are committed toward greater inclusion, diversity and equity, and who support the growth of quality research in Gender, Queer and Feminist Studies. It is a humbling opportunity for me to play a role in the work currently done by FCCS’ students, professors and researchers in the real world – challenging conventions, questioning heteronormativity, redefining our visions and our ways of living in community. With the support of Dr. Legault, I hope to be able to participate alongside these numerous researchers, who make up the strength of UBCO, in the advancement of innovations and research, and to contribute to the literary and inclusive understanding of the diversity of personal identities in our communities today.

Most importantly, my postdoctoral research is connected to Dr. Legault directly, as she is the only specialist in Early Modern Feminist and Queer Studies in Canada. When I first met her during my BA in 2010-2014, little did I know that she would not only become my mentor but she would also become a solid example of what it means to be a woman in Academia and that our daily fight for greater inclusion, diversity and equity is deeply rooted in the work that we do. I hope that someday I can be an example like her.

Explain your research and how will you be able to conduct this research at UBCO.

My research project carries out a comparative study of the characteristics attributed to man-woman vs. woman-man cross-dressing in two 17^th century novels, L’Astrée by Honoré d’Urfé (1607-1627) and Mémoires de la vie de Henriette-Sylvie de Molière by Madame de Villedieu (1672-1674), in order to bring out the discursive construction of the subject in relation to his or her other self, the “travesti”.  The main objective of my research is to observe cross-dressing as a privileged place of identity reflection in relation to cultural perceptions of identities, especially the discursive role of gender in the formation of identificatory practices. With this project, I hope to show that “travestissement” is a phenomenon of reflection, fluidity and authority that crosses and redefines the gendered boundaries institutionally codified in the 17^th century.

Literary studies in 17^th century France have always been separated from other disciplines, confined within the integrity of literary history. Barthes once wrote that the 17^th century is “autre et nôtre” (“others and ours”). However, many 17^th century experts still believe that it is more “autre” rather than “nôtre” and that a modern gendered and political approach is simply anachronistic and would make this “great” century loose its particular mentality, its perception of the world and its understanding of hierarchies in its nuances.

One day, while discussing my research project with Dr. Legault, I admitted having an impostor feeling, which came from the many comments I received throughout my doctoral journey from other 17^th century experts who denied publication of some of my work, because it was “anachronistic”. Dr. Legault then told me that challenging the norms is a pretty scary ride, but if it bothers some people, it means that we are going in the right direction. And she was right. My passion for 17^th century literature was born on the wish to challenge this conservative thinking, and I am proud to make my project part of the contemporary movement in Gender and Queer Studies.

Why did you choose that topic, and what difference do you hope your research will make?

I first chose this topic of research because “travestissement” is a subject that is still very new in the context of 17^th century France, and I eagerly want to be part of this new evolution of research in my field. Also, my postdoctoral research follows my doctoral dissertation in some ways. Indeed, while my dissertation focused on the representation of the religious woman in her autobiographical and epistolary discourse, I am now interested in knowing what we can learn from the representation of the “travesti” subject in the context of the 17^th century. I chose two novels, one written by a man and one written by a woman, in order to conduct a more inclusive research that reflects the identity diversity of yesterday and today.

I hope that my research will make a difference on two different levels:

First, I hope that it will contribute to raising two major historical issues: the role of literary discourse in understanding the realities of gender diversity, and the self-determination of the “travesti” subject which calls into question the cultural practices as well as the preconceptions that “travesti” subject gives rise to.

Second, the current research has studied “travestissement” as a marginal phenomenon that expressed class and gender irregularity in the 17^th century, primarily associated with the popular baroque rhetoric and aesthetics of the “world upside down”. Therefore, I hope that my research will contribute to demonstrating that “travestissement”, in the context of 17^th century literature, is a problem of mentality on the part of society which refuses the idea of gender diversity in favor of conformity. At this level, I hope that my research will help us better understand the historical ramifications of this gendered violence that we still witness today.

What are your plans after you complete the postdoc?

I hope to stay in Academia and have the opportunity to continue challenging the norms, making a difference, and above all, continuing to “make noise”! I once read that “écrire c’est révéler, révéler c’est faire connaître, et faire connaître, c’est engager” (to write is to reveal, to reveal is to let others know, and to let others know is to engage them as well). If I had to define what I love most about being a researcher, this would be it, and I hope to continue doing just that, wherever the next chapter will take me. And of course, I will be bringing my cats along!

About Samantha Carron

I am a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at UBC-Okanagan. My research focuses mainly on Early Modern French literature, with a particular interest in discursive representations of the female and “travesti” subject (le sujet travesti), in the critical and political scope of this image of the subject, and in the way in which these representations negotiate the logic of the sex/gender system which maintains the hierarchical attributes and power dynamics in place in 17^th century France.

I have published several works, including an article in the Journal of Canadian Studies entitled “Marie Guyart de l’Incarnation: Une femme d’action en Nouvelle-France” (2020), an article published in the Cahiers du dix-septième entitled “Se taire pour mieux plaire? Le paradoxe genré du silence dans la Correspondance de Marie Guyart de l’Incarnation” (2023) and an upcoming chapter contributing to a collective work at McGill-Queen’s University Press entitled “Marie avant l’Incarnation (1621-1631) : une sainte « en devenir » dans la Relation de 1633” (2024).