Helen Ferris Memorial Trust Fund Helps Student Attend Montreal Gallery Reception
This past summer, three University of Saskatchewan undergraduate students had the opportunity to display their artwork in a professional gallery exhibition in Montreal. The Fresh Paint/New Construction show at the Art Mûr commercial gallery presented its 14th exhibit this summer, showcasing the talents of young Canadian painters and sculptors, offering them an opportunity to show their work in a professional setting.
In January this year, the University of Saskatchewan was one of the universities asked by Art Mûr to nominate their best student painters and sculptors. The submissions were juried by the gallery, with the final selection including about 55 artists from across Canada.
And Prince Albert's Tia Furstenberg, currently studying studio art in the College of Arts and Science at the U of S, was one of the artists selected.
“I would describe my work as calm yet expressive. I love the play of movement versus stillness, sharp versus blurry. I enjoy impasto—painting thick—and how a brushstroke can indicate time, depending how fast or slow it’s made,” said Furstenberg.
Local travel company Lobstick Travel sponsored flights for the trip, so Tia applied for the Helen Ferris Memorial Trust to help with accommodations and the cost of shipping her art to Montreal.
"This was a surreal and amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. To see my art in a gallery so far from home was exciting, and such a great reaffirmation regarding my choice of career path. I saw such inspiring, young artists' work, as well as some of the influential Master painters at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts ... which I've been studying; Monet, Richter, Picasso, Degas, Matisse, (and) the Group of Seven, just to name a few."
If you know a young artist that could benefit from financial assistance to attend an arts event, a conference, or an educational initiative, see if the Helen Ferris Trust Fund can help! Click here for the application form.