Hey Sackville, get your picture taken!

Alum and photographer John Haney ('01) will be the Festival-by-the-Marsh Artist-in-Residence this year!

For his project, entitled Heaven, he will be photographing any Sackville residents/families who wish to have their portraits taken in their backyards/gardens/outdoor personal spaces.

There will be a public reception held toward the end of the exhibition, the date yet to be determined. At the end of the exhibition, all who have had their portraits made will be able to take their portraits home with them.

He hopes to make the photographs between July 9th and 19th.

Please get in touch with John if you'd like to arrange a time to have your portrait made.

Until July 7th, he can be reached by phone at 709.754.9072 or by e-mail at johnhaney44@yahoo.ca. From July 7th until the 30th, he can be reached on his cell phone, 709.697.0721.

More information.

Canada Day Triathlon

Good luck to triathlete Aaron Webb ('00) who will be competing in the Investors Group Sprint Triathlon on Canada Day.

246 competitors have signed up to spend Canada Day morning in Dartmouth.

Aaron spent five years on the Mount Allison swim team. Now, at 30, Webb's been to Australia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Hong Kong for events, not to mention all corners of Canada and the United States.

He's a full-time professional triathlete, and a software developer on the side.

Read more about Aaron.

Sackville: Cultural Capital of Canada

Congrats to the Town of Sackville who's been designated one of the 2008 Cultural Capitals of Canada in the under 50,000 population category!

"Thanks to programming that highlights the municipality's artistic creativity, regional history, community achievements, and natural charm, in 2008 Sackville will offer its citizens and visitors alike a year full of cultural discoveries, particularly through the International Environment Sculpture Conference and a series of short plays celebrating Sackville's 300 years of history."

Read more or Visit the Town of Sackville site

What do you think?

Solitude of the Stone

Roxanne Smith ('73) is a landscape photographer and in her new show about Peggys Cove she takes an unfamiliar look at the familiar.

Roxanne received a bachelor of fine arts with a major in photography from Mount A where she studied with Thaddeus Holownia. Her exhibit, Solitude Of The Stone (Images of Peggys Cove), at ViewPoint Gallery, ranges from close-up black and white views of fissures in the rocks to icons of the Peggys Cove experience like the lighthouse and a bowl of gingerbread with applesauce at the Sou’wester Restaurant.

Solitude Of The Stone is at ViewPoint Gallery, 2050 Gottingen St. (near Falkland) to July 1. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Smith is selling both prints and cards.

More information on the exhibit
Chronicle Herald Article: Unfamiliar look at the familiar

To my Future Grandkids in 2020

"To My Future Grandkids in 2020" is the 3rd environmental, visual essay created by artist Franke James (’79).

Written as a letter to her future grandchildren in 2020, it opens with James confiding, "I have this crazy image in my head of you cursing us - yelling and stamping your feet that we were stupid, and selfish and mean. I hope that is not true..."

View visual essay online: www.frankejames.com

A life of music

Wayne Rogers ('71) was featured in a local Pictou County paper for his life's career, music.

Following high school graduation Wayne attended Memorial University in Newfoundland, then Mount A where he completed a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in performance and music education.

From 1980 to 1982 he did summer graduate studies in organ performance, vocal techniques and choral conducting at Boston University. He continued his studies at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., receiving a Master of Music degree in Performance and Music Literature.

Read about his life of music

Alum Goes to the NHL

David Turk ('94) has graduated to the NHL as the new Director of Marketing for the Boston Bruins. For fans and followers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, we knew it was bound to happen, being the Saint John Sea Dogs' Director of Marketing for the past two years.

Read full story

EXCERPTS OF ME

Two years ago, some MTA students began work on a project called OMNICINEMA with students from across Canada.

Students from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are now preparing for the Western Canada showing of their production, EXCERPTS OF ME, being staged at The Capitol Theatre in Nelson British Columbia, June 28-30 at 8 p.m. each evening.

WATCH MOVIE TRAILER:

EXCERPTS OF ME premiered at Convocation Hall this past March.

EXCERPTS OF ME is a multimedia presentation which combines film, voice, and dance behind

a group of live performers from the Maritimes.

Juliet Manning of the Argosy describes the work as a high-definition video "accompanied by a strange mix of soothing music, edgy dancing, and bloodcurdling screams" Read article (March 2007).

Visit their web site, http://www.omnicinema.ca

Read "Welcome to Omnicinema" Argosy (September 2006)

Green-Grad

"Green-grad" Yonatan Strauch ('04) is one of two students making up the EPA-award winning team, working on an affordable bioshelter project.

The team has won a $75,000 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) P3 Award at EPA’s National Sustainable Design Expo on April 25. Yonatan is presently at Appalachian State University’s Department of Technology. Read story

According to Bradley B. Walters, Associate Professor of Geography & Coordinator of Environmental Studies at MTA, Yonatan did a lot of academic and applied work on campus sustainability and environmental design issues while he was at MTA, and was key in keeping the sustainable residence initiative moving forward. "Great to see how he has continued to excel in this area."

Zen brings quiet solitude to solitary

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons describes his Canadian friend and mentor Sister Elaine MacInnes ('44) - an 83-year-old Catholic nun and Zen master - as one of the most non-judgmental persons he has ever had the fortune to meet.

Elaine was featured in the Globe & Mail's Life section this week, read article.

Read Rabble.ca article: Zen and the art of social justice