U of T Arts Council Celebrates Student Engagement in the Arts Awards

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Students from across U of T’s diverse faculties and programs joined family members, staff and faculty on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 to celebrate student engagement and involvement in the arts.  Ten students were recognized for their accomplishments in everything from dance to illustration to stage production and art curating.

The University of Toronto Arts Council created the Student Engagement in the Arts awards in 2010 to recognize those UofT students – undergraduates and graduates – who are leaders in the arts community on campus, doing outstanding work outside the classroom, regardless of their academic affiliation.

“These awards recognize the wonderful contribution that students make to our arts communities at the University,” said Professor Jill Matus, Vice-Provost, Students. “Arts engagement on our campuses is thriving and this year’s winners have excelled in diverse pursuits from visual arts, illustration and curatorial projects to choreography, dance, and stage management.”

The students honoured with the award this year are: Maria Luiza Campos (visual art & curating); Karam El Masri (cinema); Hannah Fleisher (photography & arts administration); Shannon Garden-Smith (visual art); Kathleen Killin (dance & stage production); Klara Kovar (visual arts & arts administration); Pamela Lau (arts administration & curating); Nisa Mullaithilaga (dance); Patrick Murray (music); Emily Smit-Dicks (illustration & arts administration).

Among the qualifications for receiving an Engagement in the Arts Award is that students volunteer their time and that the work they undertake is not for an academic program or work undertaken in a course. The focus of the awards is therefore primarily – though not exclusively – on those many students across our campuses who use the arts to enrich the lives of those around them, but who might nevertheless be in a non-arts related discipline of study.

Nominations for the Arts Council Student Awards for Engagement in the Arts 2011-12 will open February 1, 2012. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2012 information and forms will be posted online at: www.arts.utoronto.ca. The Arts Council welcomes nominations from all students, faculty and staff members who work with students involved, in any capacity, with the arts at U of T.