Art show featuring Mount Allison University students’ work, artist’s workshop focus on commemorating wildlife protection and connecting with nature to be held Sept. 14
Mount Allison University’s Fine Arts department, in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) will celebrate an important milestone on September 14 — the Migratory Birds Convention Centennial.

To commemorate 100 years of wildlife conservation, the CWS will host a number of local events in partnership with the University and community members, including a student art show and artist’s workshop.

The events are also part of Heritage Canada’s Canada 150 Countdown; marking 109 days to go until 2017 when Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary of Confederation. This year marks the centennial of the Convention between Canada and the United States for the protection of migratory birds that migrate across international borders.

In the spring of 2016, CWS and Mount Allison launched a challenge open to Fine Arts students to create innovative artwork that expressed an appreciation for migratory birds and their habitat.

Thaddeus Holownia, Mount Allison’s Fine Arts department head, says this collaborative project was a wonderful exercise in experiential learning for his students.

“The art work represents a broad cross section of mediums from students in all years of study and we were pleased to help celebrate this important anniversary,” he says. “Working with the Canadian Wildlife Service on this project gave everyone involved a really great professional learning experience.”

Entitled For the Birds, the show includes a total of 16 original student pieces and will be unveiled at the CWS (17 Waterfowl Lane, Sackville) on Wednesday, September 14 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

“Birds are eye-catching parts of any landscape; drawing our attention, our ears and our hearts. They are also important icons in society used to represent nature - featured on money, stamps and in music and visual arts,” says Garry Donaldson, biologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service. “This vital cultural connection is protected under the Migratory Birds Convention.”

Fourth-year Fine Arts student Sara Camus is one of the 16 students whose work will be featured at the CWS.

“Working alongside the Fine Arts faculty and the team at the CWS was an amazing opportunity for students in Fine Arts at Mount Allison University,” says Camus. “Students were asked to research and design an art piece based on migratory birds, which brings an interdisciplinary approach to the project. This kind of opportunity is almost never available to students — we are very fortunate.”

A community workshop, Painting for the Birds, hosted by local artist and Mount Allison alumna Angela Thibodeau, will also held on September 14 from 4-6 p.m. in Mount Allison University’s Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts. The event will encourage novice painters to express their appreciation for nature and the migratory birds that play an iconic role in Sackville, NB. This is a free event and painting supplies will be provided, registration will be based on a first come first serve basis. To register please contact: paintingforthebirds@gmail.com.

The For the Birds exhibition will be on display at the Canadian Wildlife Service in September and will then move to Mount Allison’s Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts for the University’s Homecoming Weekend, being held September 30-October 1, 2016.

Photo captions: Some of the student art work featured in For the Birds, opening at the Canadian Wildlife Service on September 14. Works shown by artists Adrian Kiva, Hilary Drake, and Sylvan Hamburger.