The Friday Files - news to inform and inspire
Studying at Oxford During a Pandemic: One Student's Story. This week we caught up for a socially-distanced walk with our first Canada Memorial Foundation Canada to UK scholar, Sari Ohsada. An exceptionally gifted environmental studies student, she is navigating her way through moving to a different country and being a first time international student at Wolfson College, University of Oxford, during a pandemic... and all while keeping that very Canadian mindset of positivity during more resilient times. Here's an interesting peek into one student's impressions of academic life during a pandemic
For more information on scholarship and on helping promising scholars be the change the world needs, you are warmly welcomed to be in touch.
Rethinking Public Art. On Thursday 19 November, Michael Prokopow (cultural historian & curator; Associate Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Science, Graduate Studies, OCAD University [formerly the Ontario College of Art and Design]) will be in conversation with London-based artist, Thomas J. Price, discussing A New Model for Public Art hosted online by the Architectural Association (AA).
Thomas J. Price, Reaching Out, 2020. Installation: The Line, London. Photo: Jeff Moore
Price, who recently installed Reaching Out on The Line in London and is commissioned to create one of the first permanent public sculptures to honour the Windrush generation in Hackney, has, since 2005, been making figurative, yet intentionally fictional, sculptures. His artistic practice as well as his responses to the takedown of Edward Colston statue in Bristol in June (as well as vandalisation of a nearby statue of Jamaican-born Alfred Fagon) and the problematics of the temporary installation of Marc Quinn’s statue of protester Jen Reid form the jumping off point for discussion.
Prokopow further elaborated to us, “The traditions of figurative sculpture in the public realm has, for a long while, felt dated. The very idea statues of people (mostly historical) having exalting, instructional, and commemorative value seems out of touch with the ways that societies think about achievement. … The recent unveiling of the Mary Wollstonecraft statue by Maggi Hambling has reignited discussions of how the need for recognizing historical figures must negotiate changed ideas about representation. That Mr. Price makes powerful figures of people he calls ordinary is, to my mind, highly significant because he uses a long-established genre of expressive culture and by inverting the assumptions around status tied to such forms, he renders them new, timely, and potent.”
Register here to book your place for the Zoom discussion hosted by the AA, whose New Models series seeks to spotlight ways to rethink current practices for a better world.
Fellowships, Scholarships & Studying Abroad
Join us December 9 at 15:00 GMT as we hear from Canada-UK students, from undergrad to post-doc, who share their experience of international Fellowship and scholarship opportunities.
Canada has been called an education superpower. Did you know that we consistently rank as one of the best countries in the world to live, our universities are regularly featured on international rankings, and our cities praised for their diversity and safety? Canada has been at the forefront of study and research destinations for UK students. So, what makes Canada such a popular choice?
You are warmly invited to learn more about Canada as a study destination and the type of scholarships we offer, and to hear first-hand about our scholars’ experiences of studying and researching in Canada and how it has helped shape their lives. We will hear from Dr. Bo Larsen; Canada-UK Post Doctoral Fellow, Sari Osada, from Canmore Alberta now at Oxford; James Broom from Sussex now at University of New Brunswick; and Dr. Eleanor Dunling, from Glasgow and now in Vancouver. Diverse stories, diverse studies, and one common theme - changing lives through education. Please register here and join us.
In the spotlight this week is Matthew Grisoni, Canada-UK Foundation Board Director, and Chair of our Strategy Committee. Matthew is Senior Vice President at GCI, a global IT company with a Canadian founder. He's also Board Director for the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, Technology Forum Chair, and Trade Forum Co-chair. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Computer Science from Queen Mary University of London, and an MBA from the London Business School. He is a member of Institute of Engineering Technology (MIET) and a Chartered IT Professional (CITP) with the British Computer Society.
When he's not working, you'll find Matthew hiking and scrambling up mountains, kayaking anywhere (but especially across remote tarns to climb up), running small-scale pyrotechnic shows, and cooking unusual foods. When we asked what constituted unusual food, he mentioned wild boar in fennel pollen, to name just one, and we're all now jockeying for a dinner invite! In addition to his commitments to senior governance roles with the Foundation and Chamber, Matthew also volunteers at the front line with a charity that helps homeless people get the support they need to live safely. Matthew lives outside London with his wife and family.