ConU students awarded

The du Maurier Arts Council has awarded funding grants to 11 students from Quebec, seven of which are from Concordia.
At dinner a held on Nov. 21 at the Lychee Supper Club, the du Maurier Arts Council introduced the young artists who will be sharing in $105,000 of funding awarded under the council’s granting program. The students are being recognized for evolutionary projects in the fields of visual arts, cinema and multimedia. Projects were chosen on the basis of content, innovation, and creativity in presentation.
“It became increasingly apparent to us that some outstanding work was being done by individuals who were in the process of completing their studies,” said Neil Blanche, president of the arts council. “This is our way of trying to encourage artistic development and, in the process, give back to the community.”
Since its inception in 1971, the du Maurier Arts Council has become the largest private source of arts funding in Canada having distributed $56 million throughout the arts community.
The two Quebec recipients in the Cinema and Video category are both from Concordia University. Michael Yaroshevsky was selected in recognition of his film Petropolis, which combines fiction and documentary in an ode to St. Petersburg in the former Soviet Union.
Oleksa Lozowchuk gained the attention of the grants committee with his film Anne’s Wedding. Lozowchuk produced the experimental narrative, which chronicles the struggles of a Canadian photo journalist in post-Chernobyl Ukraine, for his master’s thesis in fine arts.
Concordia artists accounted for five of six prizes awarded in the category of visual arts. Yechel Gagnon, who is currently finishing her master’s degree in fine arts, says she will use the award to continue her experimentation with plywood.
“The council has helped many artists convert their ideas to reality and to have their work seen by the public, whereas they might not have the resources to do all that,” said Selena Liss. She has already used her $5,000 to $10,000 grant toward the completion of an extensive collage of paintings.
Concordia students Carlos Sanchez and Mackenzie Stroh were also selected for their exceptional photographic artwork.
Blanche said that the du Maurier Arts Council will be continuing the granting program in these categories in 2002 following the trend towards new forms of media in the arts.

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