As part of the Prairie Webinar Series, CARFAC Alberta, CARFAC Saskatchewan and CARFAC Manitoba are pleased to present:

Just Graduated? Now What?

With Brody Burns & Mohammad Abbasi

Wednesday June 26, 2024
6:30pm-8pm CST/MDT (7:30pm-9pm CDT)
Webinar Hosted Online

For artists who pursue academic accreditation, a Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) is considered a terminal degree since the PhD has not yet established itself for studio art in Canadian universities. After celebrating the accomplishment of completing any degree, what comes next? In Just Graduated? Now What?, two recent MFA graduates  reflect on the expectations versus realities of their experiences, and share how they’ve begun to find opportunity and community post-grad: Brody Burns graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and Mohammad Abbassi graduated from the University of Alberta. The two 25 minute presentations will be followed by a thirty-minute Q&A period, where we look forward to hearing your questions on this topic.

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE Webinars are free for all CARFAC members across Canada and suggested $25.00 for non-members. Please reach out if you could use a hand navigating registration.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR
Brody Burns will discuss his experiences as a self-employed, up-and-coming artist as well as some of the difficulties he has encountered. Artists have access to a variety of resources, including grants, artist-run facilities, online business tools and networking possibilities.

Mohammad Abbasi will discuss his experience as a recent immigrant to Canada and the difficulties of navigating through his own cultural narrative while simultaneously deciphering mysteries of a new environment.  As a painter from Iran, Mohammad will describe the burden of self-censorship  while dealing with the complex interplay of political and religious factors that formed his upbringing.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Brody Burns recently received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (2021) and Master of Fine Arts (2023) from the University of Saskatchewan. Brody belongs to the Treaty 6 Territory of the James Smith Cree Nation. He presently maintains a studio at AKA/Paved Arts and resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Brody is a painter first and foremost, with a focus on expressive figurative art infused with indigenous knowledge and spirituality, as well as abstract energy. 

Mohammad Abbasi  holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alberta. He has been residing in this country for approximately three years. Through painting, Mohammad explores the evolving identity of the Middle East diaspora. His art practice is a conversation about transformation and landscape, pertaining both to the idea of Home and of Self. As an immigrant, his work seeks to navigate ‘The Third Space’ as experienced by diasporic populations, and negotiate what are the boundaries - what is ‘safe’?
 
HOSTS/ MODERATORS
Chris W. Carson: Executive Director at CARFAC Alberta
Jera MacPherson: Program & Outreach Director at CARFAC Saskatchewan

CARFAC SASK & La Ronge’s Art in the Park are pleased to present the following free workshop:

FROM MIND TO MATTER
WITH TRAVELLING MENTOR ROB FROESE

Hosted In-Person
part of Art in the Park
Paterson Park, La Ronge

ABOUT WORKSHOP
CARFAC SASK is pleased to partner with La Ronge’s annual Art in the Park event to present a free, all-day, come and go, hands-on, public workshop with CARFAC SASK’s 2023-2024 Travelling Mentor: Rob Froese. Spend some time with Rob at CARFAC SASK’s festival booth, working with clay in unexpected ways, learning foundational hand-forming techniques, discussing how ideas become material objects, and how expectations and surprises combine in the creative process.

ABOUT ROB
Raised in Saskatchewan, Rob’s ceramic practice has been strongly influenced by 15 years of making and exhibiting in Japan. Since 2015, he has produced work and taught out of a Saskatoon studio, Medalta International Artists in Residence, Medicine Hat, and the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, where he is a Sessional Ceramics Faculty member. His work is informed by an art centred upbringing, travel and work experiences in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Southeast Asia, and formal art studies at the University of Saskatchewan (BA), University of Regina (BFA), and Alberta University of the Arts (MFA Craft Media). Rob’s ceramic work employs a growing variety of clay bodies, forming techniques, and diverse kiln firing methods.

ABOUT “ART FOR LUNCH”
Art for Lunch is a free speaker series presented by the Department of Visual Art and the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance at the University of Regina. Speakers are local, national, and international artists, arts administrators and curators.

ABOUT PRESENTATION
CARFAC SASK is the provincial affiliate of Canadian Artists Representation/Le Front des Artistes Canadiens (CARFAC), non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting visual artists both nationally and regionally. University of Regina students who attends this session are invited to receive a complimentary student membership to get started with CARFAC SASK; and learn about future opportunities! Among other things, Jera MacPherson (Program & Outreach Director) and Joviel Buenevente (Program Assistant) will give an overview of CARFAC SASK’s unique mentorship programs. Learn more at carfac.sk.ca or at @carfacsask on Instagram.