Eight students win Vanier College 2018-2019 Art and Photography Scholarships

Vanier College is pleased to announce the 2018-2019 winners of two important Vanier art and photography scholarship competitions: Vanier College Foundation Art Acquisition Scholarship and the Peter Gonda Memorial Scholarship.

The Vanier Student Art Acquisition Scholarship offers Vanier’s young student artists recognition for their work both in monetary terms as well as in exposure at the College. We hope this $2,000 annual scholarship, made possible thanks to the generosity of the Vanier College Foundation, will encourage our students to pursue their artistic passions while contributing to the College’s bank of art work that can be displayed throughout our campus,” said John McMahon, Vanier College’s Director General.

Created in winter 2017, the Vanier College Foundation Art Acquisition Scholarship aims to promote student success and highlight student artwork by purchasing it and displaying it in various areas of the college. At the same time, this scholarship offers financial support to students and will contribute to an art bank that will help showcase the talents of our students in disciplines such as photography, sculpture, drawing and painting.

Vanier College Foundation Art Acquisition Scholarship
Recipients of the Vanier College Foundation Art Acquisition Scholarship received a total of $2000. Eduardo Prado received $500 for his digital photograph Mr. Sandman; Rosemarie Laporte received $500 for Dish Soap (color pencils on illustration board); Kayla Descoteux-Ellemberg received $450 for Blind Instruments (digital art on satin paper); Janier Jigs Lontoc received $350 for Ouroboros, (coloured pencils on illustration board) and Nourelhouda Djedou received $200 for Casbah (ink drawing on paper).

Artist Statements
Eduardo Prado: “In my artwork entitled Mr. Sandman, I intend to capture the feeling of being nostalgic about a time gone by, or about a person that is no longer with us. By using warm colours, such as orange, red and yellow, I create an atmosphere in which people can get lost in, a moment of quiet reflection, frozen in time.”

Kayla Descoteux-Ellemberg: “My work Blind Instruments focuses on the concepts of self-awareness and overconsumption. I express the need to change the consumers’ attention towards more globally important issues and to subsequently induce reflection upon their actions and beliefs.”

Rosemarie Laporte: “Through my piece titled Dish Soap, I address the evolution of women's role as society perceives it. Tackling these social issues from a feminine point of view, I express my indignation towards a flawed system that uses the female form as a marketing tool. The hourglass shape of the bottle, resembling feminine curves, allude to the female normalized objectification in the media.”

Janier Jigs Lontoc: “The Ouroboros is seen as the symbol of the cycle of death and rebirth. This cyclical duality between life and death, as well as the process connecting both opposing ends are the predominant themes in the piece. Dualities such as hot and cold, weak and strong, life and death are themes that shown by Ouroboros."

Nourelhouda Djedou: “Casbah illustrates that despite its artifice and mesmerizing ornate doors, tradition may- on some instance - act merely as a confining prison, filtering an individual's every decision and actions, reducing them to nothing more than a shadow behind an overwhelming and intricate structure of restraining principals.”

Peter Gonda Memorial Scholarship winners
The Peter Gonda Memorial Scholarship in Photography was created in 2017 in memory of Peter Gonda who passed away on August 20th 2016 at the age of 47. He was a Montreal-based artist, novelist and screenwriter. One of his main passions was photography.

The Peter Gonda Memorial Scholarship, valued at $600, is awarded annually to any Vanier College student who demonstrates original photographic works. The first prize is $300, the second prize is $200 and the third prize is $100.

This year’s winners are: Minh Ngoc Pham, 1st Prize $300; Charlotte Rainville, 2nd Prize $200; and Claudia Bletea-Filat, 3rd Prize $100.

Congratulations to all these young artists and good luck in their future endeavors.