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VASA’s reporter Kavin Ni interviews UBC’s award-winning visual arts student Athena Alexandra Papadopoulos and explores her experiences, inspirations and thoughts. (Page 4)

In this issue:

Athena Alexandra Papadopoulos: Artist/ Student/ Award-Winner

What’s VASA? What’s on Campus? Got Things to Sell?

Self Portrait with Artist/Model, 2010

VASAVisual Arts Students’ AssociationMonthly Newsletter

September 2010Edition 1 Issue No. 1

So let us guess what you’re thinking… What is VASA?

The Visual Arts Students’ Association, or VASA, is an official student club affiliated with the AMS and the Depart-ment of Art History, Visual Art and Theory to serve UBC’s Visual Art community. Our goal is to help create con-nections among visual arts students, with one another and within this university at various stages of learning and interests to benefit them during their time at UBC.

What do we do?

We have an official meeting monthly. Additionally, team/individual meetings are conducted by the President of VASA. We work closely with the AHVA department to maintain our position as an official club, and keep students connected.

And, who are we?

We are a strong committee of executive members who excel at planning and communicating with one an-other on a daily basis to help you – VISA students. I would like to introduce our VASA executives!

VASA Executives list

Yoriko Gillard President

Kate Finch Vice President

Adela Chau Secretary/Co-reporter

Lisa Leu AUS Rep

Brenda Mattman Treasurer/ Co-reporter

Annie Hong Event Coordinator

Julie Wong Co-event Coordinator

Shelley Fearnley Exhibition Coordinator

Joy Kim Editor

Alison Lau Graphic Designer

Kavin Ni Reporter

I would like to thank all the people who have participated thus far in regular meetings and interviews with us. Your support and encouragement means a lot to us and we sincerely appreciate it!

Yoriko Gillard

President Visual Arts Students’ Association

LET’S CONNECT

Why do we need a newsletter?

Although our fantastic school offers us students a wide range of resources and opportunities such as scholar-ships, artist talks and shows, it seems as if most of us don’t know about them or even hear about them until it’s (almost) too late. This goes for things both on-campus and off-campus. This is understandable due to the large student body, as well as the numerous departments of study involved. However, we want to help y’all out. VASA believes that UBC’s visual arts students can really use a central outlet to get their information from. So, we thought it would be pretty cool to give you your very own newsletter. What will be in the newsletter?

We want to offer as many resources to you as possible, so we will be including interviews, reviews, events, classi-fied, and other fun stuff for your benefit.

What do we want from this?

We want to equip you with whatever information possible so you can take advantage of being a student at the Vancouver-campus of the University of British Columbia. How can you help?

We are here for you. So, we would love to hear from you! Send us your comments, reviews of shows we adver-tised, advertise in the classified, send in cool photos, and send in tips you discovered, and such like that. We want you to take part in this newsletter with us!

Get involved! Hope to hear from you soon!

Joy Kim

Editor Vasa Newsletter

Adela Shelley Kate Annie Julie

Yoriko

Lisa

Kavin Joy Alison

Welcome to VASA: VASA MonthlyI’m sure many of you readers are won-dering why we decided to begin a newsletter. Don’t worry, I’ll explain, and then hopefully, you’ll fall-in-love with us.

Brenda

K: Please describe your upbring and how it affects your decisions in art.

A: I grew up around Downtown Toronto, where I was fairly exposed cosmopolitan ideas. My dad’s family is Greek and my mother’s is Canadian. They aren’t art-ists. My dad’s family brought his fur business over from Greece to Canada. So, I pay homage to my dad for being involved in that business because a lot of my pieces use fur and relate to contemporary debates around the uses of fur.

K: Tell us about the first ever art piece that made a large impression on you.

A: It was a collage piece I did in Manuel Pina’s VISA 183 class! I appropriated imagery and used my own by reformatting them. I wasn’t working on a “blank slate”, or white space. That’s when the work was suc-cessful. We come into contact with so much we are influenced no matter what. As soon as I started rec-ognizing that, I was composing and collaging work that was better and really interesting.

Toronto-born aspiring artist, Athena Alexandra Papadopoulos, is driven, passionate and ready to cross boundaries. She is currently residing in Vancouver for her 4th year in AHVA’s BFA VISA program. She is the recent winner of the SNAP Stars Photo Competition in Toronto for her photographic piece: Kidsmeal (2009).

K: What is your opinion of art education in UBC?

A: I like it a lot. UBC is a diverse space, maybe that’s why the work being produced here is interesting, because it’s multi-disciplinary. Your other courses intersect with your visual art. If you have those other little things in the work, maybe you will gain another audience.

K: So do you think the art theory course should teach more about the business side of art?

A: Yeah I think so. We started to touch on how to get a grant and write the proposal of Cornelia Wyn-gaarden. That was helpful but it wasn’t enough. There is not enough time to cover it. If you are really interested in it, you can go ask a professor. There is a whole business school here, come on there has got to be someone who does art business. Maybe, maybe not, I don’t know. I hope so.

INTERVIEW

SNAP prize winning photo with Barrie Jones and Christine D’Onofrio

K: So do you often feel you are pressured when you are making projects?

A: No, not anymore. I just love making work. The only time I feel pressure is when it is not coming together the way I planned. Not pressure about making it work or being successful, because you can always make something else. It’s not the last. What I feel pressured is finishing a piece in enough time that I’m not going to embarrass myself.

K: Do you think the amount of time given for projects is too short? It’s usually about 2 weeks.

A: I think two weeks is enough time. If you are study-ing, at this point you shouldn’t have ideas that are going to be taking a year to exact...You just have to be efficient.

K: So from what I heard that you want to be an inde-pendent artist after you graduate. Is that the plan?

A: After I graduate from UBC, I want to go to Chelsea in London, or Goldsmiths, or St Martins. Those are all pretty good grad schools. I am also thinking about applying to Yale. Their photo department accepts like 8 people a year.

I hope my work will become a part of the system: getting into galleries and getting discussed. I need to be a part of the contemporary art community. I want to be recognized. An art history prof at UBC will be teaching in 2015, and I will be mentioned. We studied Jeff Wall. I want people to study me one day.

“Maybe because it was a naked guy and there is a lot of sexual factor involved with the dis-ease of AIDS, perhaps it pertained. The walls were red; I felt that re-ally suited its cause.”

Denjuner Sur La Chaise, 2009

Death of Mukaka, 2010

K: What can you tell us about the award that you won in Toronto?

A: It was a live auction for AIDS benefits, with artists from all over. They had their work printed, framed, and presented in a really nice banquet space in Toronto. My work came out, and apparently people were bidding on it. It ended up at $950 for the piece.

K: What is the photo about?

A: It was a staged domestic narrative image in an apartment between Main and Hastings. I stripped it down and just made my own scene. My ex-boyfriend stood nude in his kitchen, standing [behind] an iron-ing board, with a neck brace and right in front of his genitals there is his cat, which he was ironing.

I was thinking about gender role reversal and misog-yny in a sense. Maybe because it was a naked guy and there is a lot of sexual factor involved with the disease of AIDS, perhaps it pertained. The walls were red; I felt that really suited its cause.

K: Do you have any advice for new art students enter-ing UBC?

A: If you know that you want to do visual art the whole time, then good on you, just go with it.

Athena will be holding a joint show with Holly Parmley on October 22, 2010 at the AMS Art Gallery. Come and check out her work!

Kids Meal, 2009

The Cook and the Dish, 2010

EVENTS On-Campus:

AMS Art Gallery Crit Nights Every Thursday | AMS Art Gallery UBC SUB Building Info: (Search as Facebook Event)

“Neighbors” – Marina Roy and Abbas Akhavan Sept. 6-10, 2010 | AMS Art Gallery UBC Sub Building

Here Today, Gone Today (MFA Graduate Exhibition) Sep. 3-19, 2010 | Belkin Art Gallery Main Mall and Crescent Road (UBC) Info: http://www.belkin.ubc.ca/future/ubc-mfa-graduate-exhibition-2010

“Beyond the Words” – Carl Kohler ExhibitNow- Sept. 29, 2010 | IKB Library Gallery1981 East Mall (UBC) Info: http://www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/about/gallery%40IKBLC.html

Tepetlaoxtoc Now - Sept. 29, 2010 | Irving K. Barber Learning Center 1981 East Mall (UBC) Info: http://www.calendar.events.ubc.ca/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo World Art Market -WAM! Sept. 18, 2010, 10-5pm | Museum of Anthropology (MOA) 6393 N.W. Marine Drive Vancouver Info: http://www.moa.ubc.ca

Off-Campus:

The Art-Full Garden, Zimscult ReturnsNow- Sept 26, 2010, 10-7pm | VanDusen Botanical Garden5251 Oak Street, VancouverInfo: http://www.vandusengarden.org

The Word On The Street - National Book and Magazine FestivalSept 26, 2010, 11-5pm | Library Square & CBC Plaza350 West Georgia Street, VancouverInfo: http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver We Stand on Guard for Thee: Canadian Naval Centennial (War Art)Now- Sept 30, 2010 | Vancouver Maritime Museum1905 Ogden Avenue, VancouverInfo: http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/

Vancouver Home + Interior Design ShowSept. 9-12, 2010 | Vancouver Convention Center1055 Canada PlaceInfo: http://www.vancouverhomeandinteriordesignshow.com/

Upcoming Competitions:

Menorah Design Art Competition & Exhibition Open to: All artistsMedium: All materials are welcome Submission deadline: Oct. 25, 2010Prize: $1000 Info: http://www.rjweb-builder.org/CONGS/cd/cd011/

Reviews for art shows? Tips for art making? Things to sell? Feedback? Angry Comments?

We will be having “Your Voice” and “Classified” starting October.

Submissions can be sent to:

vasaubc@gmail.comEditor: Joy Kim

Graphic Designer: Alison Lau

Off-Campus:

Public Dreams 25th Birthday Bash/Fundraiser Sept. 24, 2010, 9-4pm | W2 Storyeum 151 W. Cordova St. (Gastown) Info: (Search as Facebook Event)

A Dam 70’s ShowNow- Sept 25, 2010 | Giggle Dam Dinner Theatre2616 Shaughnessy St. Port CoquitlamInfo: http://www.giggledam.com/

Bard On The BeachNow- Sept. 25, 2010 | Vanier Park1100 Chestnut Street, VancouverInfo: http://bardonthebeach.org

Silent Auction and Wine Tasting Event Sept. 25, 2010, 7-11pm | The Labyrinth House 1138 Jervis Street Vancouver Info: http://projectsinplace.org/

Modulus Festival Sept.30- Oct 3, 2010 | Heritage Hall 3102 Main Street, Vancouver Info: http://www.musiconmain.ca/

The Arts Club presents Tear the Curtain! Now- Oct.10, 2010 | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage 2750 Granville Street, Vancouver Info: http://www.electriccompanytheatre.com/upcoming/curtain.html

The Magic Lantern Exhibit Now- Oct. 20, 2010 | The MSA Museum 2313 Ware Street Abbotsford BC Info: http://www.msamuseum.ca/

The Arts Club presents Don Quixote Sept. 23- Oct. 23, 2010 | Granville Island Stage 1585 Johnston St., Vancouver Info: http://www.artsclub.com/20102011/plays/don-quixote.htm