The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and Okanagan College Arts & Foundational Programs are please to present this new film series, Welcome to the Anthropocene: Now What?

The Anthropocene is a term increasingly entering public and policy discourses, including those of the humanities and social sciences, and it is understood as a force now altering the planet’s biosphere and implicating human-kind in mass extinctions of plant and animal species, the pollution of the oceans, deforestation and the alteration of the atmosphere, among other serious and even irreversible impacts.

While there is already ubiquitous evidence/data available regarding the Anthropocene, including climate change, environmental degradation, unsustainable water usage, deforestation and hothouse conditions, pollution, etc., the aim of this film series is to bring us to the “Now what?” a question that is not merely rhetorical but one that has local and global import.

All films will be held in the Okanagan College Theatre, Kelowna Campus (1000 K.L.O Road), from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Discussion will follow each film.

Film Series Schedule:

October 25, 2018 – Anthropocene
November 29, 2018 – Before the Flood
January 30, 2019 – H.O.P.E. : What You Eat Matters
February 27, 2019 – The End of Meat
March 27, 2019 – Speciesism: The Movie 
April 25, 2019 – Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home

For information contact:Dr. Jodey Castricano – Jodey.Castricano@ubc.ca or Dr. Shona Harrison – SHarrison@okanagan.bc.ca

This film series is made possible through the generous support of the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies,, Okanagan College Arts & Foundational Programs , and VegFund.

Squash & Stretch is an intensive animation challenge that engages industry animators and emerging animators alike to create a short film in 48 hours.

All members will receive industry mentorship and experience in the areas of character development, storytelling, animation, illustration, and presentation skills. We will form teams by combining participants with diverse skill-sets who will then collaborate to finesse new ideas. Local industry leaders will guide groups throughout the process of completing their films.

Why you should attend Squash & Stretch

• work with a team to build a short animated for your portfolio
• learn about and practice new skills — challenge yourself
• valuable connections that will last a lifetime
• mentorship from industry experts and leading thinkers and doers

STUDENTS!

Tickets for you are $35 dollars to secure your spot OR you can apply to get 1 of 10 free passes by filling out this form. These spots are limited though.

Fill out this survey for your chance to get free entry into the event, or CLICK HERE for payment and entry information.

The event will close with a gala screening, where our industry mentors will give their final remarks.

Ashley Little, (Photo Credit: Vancouver Public Library)

Ashley Little completed her MFA in 2014 at UBC Okanagan. Penguin Randomhouse published her most recent book, Confessions of a Teenage Leper. This is the fifth novel that Ashley has written and published.

The launch of this new book is planned for Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 pm at Perch Café in Kelowna.

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

Tell us about your novel.

Confessions of a Teenage Leper is a Young Adult novel narrated by 17-year-old Abby Furlowe, a cheerleader from Texas, who contracts leprosy (a.k.a. Hansen’s Disease) from an armadillo.

What was your process of researching for the book?

I originally thought I would write a historical novel about the D’Arcy Island leper colony (off the southern tip of Vancouver Island). I stayed on D’Arcy Island for three nights and saw the foundations of the buildings and the orchard that the residents tended. I went to the BC Archives and saw photos of the people who had lived on D’Arcy Island as well as some old newspaper articles about it some letters between a politician and a doctor regarding a concerned woman’s wish to go to D’Arcy Island to care for these people (they had no nurses or medical care).

I also did a lot of secondary research through books and film. I read quite a few memoirs from people who had lived at Carville (the centre in Louisiana where Abby goes for treatment in the novel) and an excellent ethnography of Carville as well, which helped me get a lot of the small details right; the fact that Carville does their own Mardi Gras parade for example, and has special gold doubloons pressed for the occasion, featuring an armadillo on both sides. I liked that so I used it in the novel. I read a non-fiction book by a doctor who had worked with Hansen’s Disease sufferers in India for forty years. I read a great novel called Molokai about a young woman with Hansen’s Disease who is banished to Hawaii’s lazaretto, and the films, Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, The Motorcycle Diaries, and a handful of documentaries. I called the Hansen’s Disease Treatment Center in Baton Rouge, the same one Abby goes to, and I told them I was writing a novel about this young woman who contracts HD, etc. and was it okay if I asked a few questions. They said sure and were glad to help me. So that’s how I confirmed a few final details that I needed to know for the novel.

What was your process in writing the book? How long did it take you?

I had already done about nine months of research before I started writing in June 2015. From Sept-Dec of 2015 I was the Vancouver Public Library’s Writer in Residence so I had a big chunk of time to work on it then. I finished a first draft at the end of 2015 and then did a substantial rewrite (at my publisher’s recommendation) from January-March of 2017, when I was Writer in Residence at Wilfred Laurier University.

Tell us what it was like to work with an editor?

I originally had a different story-line for Dean, Abby’s brother, one that did not end well for him… My editors at Penguin Randomhouse thought that it was detracting and distracting from the main story-line – Abby’s struggle with Hansen’s Disease – and so they wanted me to change it and the ending (since the ending was linked to Dean’s story-line).
I was sort of attached to my original, because it was really powerful emotionally, I thought, so I didn’t necessarily want to change it in the way they were suggesting. But, I eventually came around to seeing that they were right, and that it would be stronger to focus on Abby’s journey without clouding it up with Dean’s. That’s why editors are so great – because they see what you can’t… but if you can just let go of your ego for a minute and trust their guidance – you end up with a stronger story for it.

Tell us about your other recent publications and articles…or past ones

In 2016, I published Niagara Motel, which was my MFA thesis novel. It has since been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, translated into German, and been produced as an audiobook.

What’s next?

Now I’m freaking myself out by working on a thriller for adults about a writer who has a stalker. It’s called Creep.

Media Studies instructor Miles Thorogood demonstrates virtual reality development.

A local West Kelowna winery has contributed $8,000 to the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies for a new award for students.

The donation from Grizzli Winery will allow the (FCCS) to present new awards this academic year to students majoring in fine arts or media studies who display great promise in graphic design and visual communication. These represent the first awards created in FCCS as part of UBC President Santa Ono’s Blue & Gold Campaign for Students, launched last fall, which aims to raise $100 million across both UBC campuses over three years to give promising students access to a life-changing education.

Grizzli Winery is relatively new to the Okanagan, and Edwin Chu says the company is eager to support the arts and culture of this region. The idea of supporting the talented, emerging student-artists of FCCS strikes them as an ideal way of accomplishing that.

Edwin Chu, General Manager of Grizzli Winery

“We are very pleased to offer the Grizzli Winery Awards in Fine Arts Excellence, which aims to honour student creativity. As a supporter of the Okanagan art and cultural community, Grizzli Winery is looking forward to providing this opportunity to foster the creative education of UBCO students,” says Edwin Chu, General Manager of Grizzli Winery.

The fine arts or media studies programs focus on creativity, innovation, and critical reflection. Benefitting from cutting-edge facilities, students learn the techniques of traditional and digital-studio arts, while being given ample studio space and time to explore fully their own projects and ideas, says Bryce Traister, dean of FCCS.

“Grizzli has, in a few short years, established itself as an arts-engaged winery whose support of creativity and community-focussed artistic work closely aligns with our own interest in supporting our students’ artistic endeavours and recognizing their artistic achievements,” adds Traister. “We are delighted to be working with this new community partner.”

The Blue & Gold Campaign for Students supports a range of student awards, including scholarships, bursaries, fellowships and experiential-learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, targeting students in need, students from under-represented communities, and leadership-based awards.

“Awards allow students the much-needed time to focus on their creative and scholarly projects,” says Stephen Foster, head of creative studies. “They are also a wonderful way for the university and the community to recognize student achievement. This helps to create an environment that inspires excellence.”

Grizzli Winery is located on West Kelowna’s Wine Trail. The 23-acre Grizzli estate features one of Canada’s largest tasting rooms, nine acres of vines, a restaurant and a picnic area set against the backdrop of Mt. Boucherie and the surrounding valley views.

Michael Turner and his book cover

Michael Turner completed his MFA this past summer at UBC Okanagan. His book, 9×11 and other poems like Bird, Nine, x and Eleven was recently published by New Star Books.

The launch of Michael’s book was on September 11th at Massy Books in Chinatown in Vancouver, and he will be joining us in Kelowna at the Milkcraters f the Moon Reading Series on September 20th, 7 p.m. at Milkcrate Records.

We met with Michael to discuss his book and to get some insight on his writing process.

Tell us about your new book.

9×11 and other poems like Bird, Nine, x and Eleven was inspired by the events of 9/11: how certain incidents — be they catastrophic or affirmative — can turn us into cameras, where we capture and store details we might otherwise forget.

What was your process in writing the book? How long did it take you? Was this your thesis project, or related to your thesis?

My previous books often began with titles, from which I would write in earnest, usually in a linear fashion. Hard Core Logo(1993) is an example of that. Same with Kingsway(1995) and 8×10 (2009). But 9×11 was composed only after the writing was done. If my thesis is related to this book, I would say that it had me more focused than usual and working at a greater pace. 9×11 was completed in a weekend while taking a break between writing the bulk of my thesis and its conclusion. I literally opened a file I had been contributing to over the past five years, printed out its documents and laid their pages on my living room floor. That was Friday morning. By Sunday evening I had a manuscript.

Tell us what it was like to work with an editor.

I have had the good fortune of working with a number of editors throughout my writing career and cannot imagine publishing anything without one (my blog notwithstanding). Some editors get what you are doing with form, content, tone, etc. while others don’t. Some get what you are doing but edit your work into a house style, while some don’t get what you are doing but come up with amazing suggestions nonetheless. All of us should be so lucky to have another pair of eyes on our work, if for no other reason than to protect us from ourselves.

Tell us about why you decided to complete your MFA degree.

The MFA was an opportunity to get out of myself, refocus, develop some new, more sustainable study habits. I had grown bored and needed to be amongst those from different walks, cultures, generations. I am thankful to those in my cohort, all of whom gave of themselves so generously in our discussions of land, language, identity, aesthetics, ethics. I am also thankful to faculty and support staff, for they too provided related forms of editorial.

Tell us about your other recent publications and articles…or past ones.

During my time at UBCO a lot of my published writing was focused on the work of visual artists living and working in the Okanagan Valley. I am grateful to those artists and institutions who invited me to contribute to their exhibition catalogues: Katherine Pickering (Vernon Public Art Gallery), Scott August (Lake Country Art Gallery) and Gary Pearson (Kelowna Public Art Gallery).

What’s next?

I will begin composing an academic c.v. After that, turning my thesis (Course Language: How the Reader is Encouraged to Collaborate on Our Seminar and Pass Me) into a course I can facilitate through a gallery or museum education/outreach program.

Instructor David Jefferess with his students in CULT 499.

The Cultural Studies program at UBC’s Okanagan campus is offering a course that focusses on community engagement, where students have the opportunity to work in collaborative teams to complete projects that support the work of community partners.

The projects for this coming year include:

• Create a learning resource for promoting decolonization in the Okanagan
• Develop an outreach project for the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art
• Create a promotional video for the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art
• Produce research and resources for a museum exhibit on migrant labour
• Produce research and resources for a museum exhibit on women’s labour

Click HERE  for the project descriptions and application information.

Students enrolled in the course in past years have worked on some interesting and informative projects that demonstrate the skills they developed and the positive impacts they were able to make with their community partners.

Students Tessa Baatz, Chiara Mason and Emma McLeod presented an idea to the City of Kelowna that examines the positive impacts of parking spaces that are reclaimed for public recreational or beatification purposes. Read more about PARKLETS: Innovations in Urban Public Spaces.

Kezia Elaschuk and Safeera Jaffer researched the experiences of early Chinese and Japanese agricultural workers in the Okanagan and presented their finding in an exhibition at the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum. Read more about this project.

This course (CULT 499) is designed to provide students experiential learning based on the skills and knowledge of Cultural Studies scholarship. As such, students will complete a tangible research project that will be publicly disseminated, and they will acquire specific professional skills and experience suitable for inclusion in letters of application, resumes, and/or curriculum vitae.

How to apply:

In order to enroll in CULT 499 Community Engaged Research in term two this year, students are required to submit an application that includes a resume, description of related skills and experience as well as a letter of interest. The deadline for applications is September 28, 2018. 

For more information and to submit your application, please contact the course instructor, David Jefferess. david.jefferess@ubc.ca.

Miles Thorogood

Miles Thorogood, instructor of digital media and computer science at UBC Okanagan, is the recipient of two outstanding awards for soundscape and acoustic communication.

The R. Murray Schafer Soundscape Award, is awarded for Thorogood’s thesis, which investigates new ways of analyzing and approaching soundscapes. The audiometaphor.ca project brings together computational systems for analyzing patterns in audio in terms of human emotion and inserts this into a soundscape generation system.

The second award, The Glenfraser Acoustic Communication Research Award, was awarded to further Thorogood’ s research in computational soundscape studies of the Okanagan. His research aims at integrating soundscape analysis, text and audio interviews, and image for building resources to foster resilient communities and art making.

Dr. Thorogood’s research into soundscape and communication as a form of artistic expression has been recognized for enriching the diversity of the program offerings within the BFA and BMS.

“At UBCO we are excited to see our Faculty succeed in all areas of research including creative practice.” Says Stephen Foster, Department Head of Creative Studies. “His success is of tremendous benefit to our students and demonstrates the high level of excellence in our teaching and research within the Creative Studies Department.”

John Braun, Head of the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics adds, “Thorogood brings dedication and ingenuity to the Bachelor of Media Studies program. It is not surprising that Thorogood has been recognized for his work.”

Miles Thorogood teaches Digital Media theory and creation in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and Computer Science in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. He is an artist and programmer who focusses on cognitive science and audio signal analysis for developing computational assistive technologies in community engagement and creative industries. His work has been featured in public art installations, as well as at international conferences and festivals.

Miles is working with the Spoken Web project to experiment with new methods of understanding speech and ambient signals in tape-recorded Canadian poetry. He is involved with the Waterways team in exploring the historical, indigenous, and ecological patterns of the Okanagan to manifest engaging public education experiences. He is currently proposing the Culture and Environment Archive Toolkit to develop novel platforms for cataloging, analyzing, and retrieving multiple media types in research and creation. A part of Miles’ research-creation work involves electroacoustic performance and an upcoming collaborative exhibit named Journey of a Pod to be displayed at the Kelowna Art Gallery in October.

About UBC’s Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.