<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><img height="340" width="550" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" apple-inline="yes" id="C095F27D-1C92-4FEA-A11C-8A38202A773B" src="cid:0A712768-5E66-4D65-B87E-9E43D76B2DE9@nexus.uwaterloo.ca"><br><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Waterloo Fine Arts Presents</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">MFA THESIS 2</span></strong><br><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">May 5–21, 2016</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Opening Reception: Thursday, May 5 from 5:00–8:00 pm</span></strong><br><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">Gallery One</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aislinn Thomas</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dup-boug-a-dad</span></strong><br><i style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></i><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>Dup-boug-a-dad</i></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"> is a video installation that explores different ways of being in the world. The artist describes this work:</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br><span lang="EN-US"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US">"My friend David loves cheerleading. Living in rural Nova Scotia, as he does, his main access to the sport is through YouTube. The footage in <i>Dup-boug-a-dad</i> was taken when he visited Kitchener-Waterloo in 2015 and practiced with the University of Waterloo cheerleading teams.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">David also loves to sing. Being deaf, as he is, he sings in his own language. The song in </span><i style="font-size: 10pt;">Dup-boug-a-dad</i><font size="2"> is, at least in part, about lifting a cheerleader up with one arm. He sang it while standing on a platform that vibrated in response to his voice, translating his </font>words<font size="2"> into felt, tactile sensations that allowed him to ‘hear’ his voice for the first time that we know of."</font></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">Aislinn Thomas is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes video, performance, installation and text-based work. She culls material from everyday experiences and relationships, exploring themes of vulnerability, empathy, possibility and failure. She is an MFA candidate at the University of Waterloo and earned a BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and is the recipient of several grants and awards including a C.D. Howe Scholarship for Arts and Design, a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Masters Scholarship, an Ontario Graduate Fellowship, and grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.</span></span><br><br><div><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">Gallery Two</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jennifer Akkermans</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You Can Never Go Home</span></strong><br><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In the summer of 2014, Jennifer Akkermans packed everything she owned into her car and moved from Calgary to Waterloo. Since then, she has been attempting to build a home for herself in Ontario. </span><i style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);">You Can Never Go Home</i><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(26, 26, 26);"> is a physical manifestation of this process. Torn between remembering her prairie home and attempting to acclimatize to a new place, Akkermans uses herself as a case study. Like some of the artworks in the exhibition, the process is incomplete. The obsessiveness and anxiety of the installation speaks to the discomfort and sense of discovery at the heart of her transition.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Jennifer Akkermans is an Alberta girl currently making a home for herself in Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to pursuing her MFA at the University of Waterloo, she was the Founder and Chief Researcher of the Institute of Morphoid Research. She has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Calgary, the Esker Foundation and Visual Arts Alberta, participated in residencies at the Banff Centre and Gushul Studio in the Crowsnest Pass, and produced a short documentary as part of EMMEDIA’s Production Access program. As a recipient of the </span><span lang="EN-US">2015 Keith and Win Shantz Fellowship</span><span lang="EN-US">, she travelled to Cologne, Germany, to work with Alexandra Bircken.</span></p></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">Airstream Trailer</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anna van Milligen</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">dollhouse</span></strong><i style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><i><br></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>dollhouse</i> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">comes from two places—on one hand, an intense sensitivity to the continued existence of sexism and sexist oppression; and on the other, an affinity for pink, pretty, plastic things. The result is a hyperfeminine fantasy space, an intimate domestic interior blanketed in peach, pink, and baby blue. Constructed within the gutted shell of a vintage Airstream trailer, a series of compartments and alcoves display a peculiar collection of found, altered, and hand-made objects laid out in shrine-like arrangements, as if for worship—or perhaps illicit consumption. Torn between a desire to touch and a fear of spoiling the virginal purity of their surroundings, visitors are simultaneously invited in and made to feel like intruders in this strangely beautiful, perversely fascinating space.</span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">Anna van Milligen is a Canadian-American installation artist whose interests include feminism, fake hair, faux fur, and peach. She is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Waterloo, and received her BFA from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a recipient of the 2015 Keith and Win Shantz Fellowship, she assisted Dutch film and installation artist Melanie Bonajo with several projects in the Netherlands. Upcoming shows include a two-person exhibition at Idea Exchange at the Preston Gallery in Cambridge, Ontario.</span> </span></div><div><br><div><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Please join us in celebrating the work of these three promising emerging artists.</span></strong><br><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Exhibitions are free and open to the public.</span></strong><br><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">ADMIT EVERYONE</span></strong><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">University of Waterloo Art Gallery</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">East Campus Hall | ECH 1239</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">519.888.4567 ext. 33575</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://uwag.uwaterloo.ca/" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">uwag.uwaterloo.ca</span></a><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/uwag.waterloo" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; 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background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Or by appointment</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">CONTACT</span></strong><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Ivan Jurakic, Director / Curator</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">519.888.4567 ext. 36741</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="mailto:ijurakic@uwaterloo.ca" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ijurakic@uwaterloo.ca</span></a><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">DRIVING</span></strong><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">263 Phillip Street, Waterloo</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Located in East Campus Hall on Phillip Street off University Avenue West</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Use south entrance to ECH across from Engineering 6</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">PARKING</span></strong><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Limited meter parking is available behind ECH</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Visitor Parking is available in Lot E6 or Lot Q for a flat rate of $5.00</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.uwaterloo.ca/map/index.php" target="_blank" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.uwaterloo.ca/map/index.php</span></a><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(221, 0, 0);">MAILING</span></strong><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">University of Waterloo Art Gallery</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">200 University Avenue West</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img alt="logos" width="550" height="47" apple-inline="yes" id="9C927A81-3F3A-42A8-AB26-EF9786169BB2" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" src="cid:48BE031A-FBAB-418C-AC4B-96E81ADFFF45@nexus.uwaterloo.ca"><br><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Images (left to right): Aislinn Thomas, <em>Dup-boug-a-dad </em>(still), video installation, 2016. Photo: Tani Omorogbe. Jennifer Akkermans, <em>You Can Never Go Home </em>(detail), mixed-media installation, 2016. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Anna van Milligen, </span><em style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">attention whore </em><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">(detail from <i>dollhouse</i>), mixed-media, 2016. Images courtesy of the artists unless otherwise noted.</span></div></div></div></body></html>