This conversation was recorded on Friday February 19th, 2021.
In conversation: Marissa Sean Cruz, Ryth Kesselring, and Wendy-Alexina Vancol, Maya Rae Oppenheimer and Joni Cheung from CICA, FOFA exhibition coordinator, Geneviève Wallen, and FOFA director, Eunice Bélidor.
During this fourth and last gathering, we are recording from the coziness of our homes and processing together the impacts of the year 2020 on art- making. The panelists shared their experiences around the new directions their practice has taken during the past few months. Marissa Sean Cruz, Ryth Kesselring, and Wendy-Alexina Vancol commented on the explorations of the self and the careful decisions that frames their investigations. Generative observations were made around the expansion of one’s skills set to generate a new body of work. The expectation put upon artists to be self-sufficient are exacerbated during the pandemic as many creatives face constraints related to access to studio space, financial and human resources. One is expected to produce professional art documentation, to become a social media guru, an accountant, an articulate grant writer, and proficient designer. In exploring the reality of cyclical skill-building new possibilities emerge despite imposed limits. Opportunities to re-invent one’s practice give space for unpredicted material explorations, switching from one mode of representation to another, learning new modes of communication or research referent.
To know more about Marissa Sean Cruz, Ryth Kesselring, and Wendy-Alexina Vancol's practices and other musings about how their artworks relate to one another please visit their Artists’ Profiles on our curatorial platform CU at FOFA.
Follow their respective artistic practice here:
Marissa Sean Cruz: @riss_rat, website
Ryth Kesselring: @rythakesselring, website
Wendy-Alexina Vancol: @wendyalexina.v, recent curatorial project website
About USE
Each year, the annual undergraduate exhibition aims to represent the diverse art practices and research interests occurring within the Faculty of Fine Arts. Collaborative at its core, this interdisciplinary initiative culminates in an exhibition, publication, and performance event, and combines the efforts of many students, staff, and faculty members. Ultimately, the undergraduate student exhibition aims to foster community among students, while encouraging them to work together through different practices and thought processes.
More information about USE 2021