ACAD alumni and faculty member Renata Liwska is a finalist for this years Governor General's Awards in the category of children's literature - illustration. She is nominated for The Quiet Book written by Deborah Underwood which debuted last spring at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller List and was on the list for 13 weeks. She was also recently awarded a gold medal from the prestigious Society of Illustrators in New York where she took the top prize in "The Original Art" an exhibit celebrating the fine art of children's book illustration, which is on display at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York City from October 20 through November 24, 2010.
Lincoln has the unique accomplishment of earning a degree in both photography and illustration from ACAD. His first children's book Harry and Horsie written by Katie Van Camp was published by Harper Collins in 2009. He was awarded the founders award from The Society of Illustrators Original Art 2009 for most promising talent in children's book illustration. He is currently working on a sequel.
Remember when you were a little kid - those big, flat drawings of death an destruction that could keep you going for ages? Me and a few other artists, as kind of a weekly relaxation ritual, go out and draw these big collaborative battles, complete with sound effects and blood spatters, occaisionally. After full days of drawing strictly designed, tightly thought-out stuff, it's super-relaxing to let go like this. One of the key parts of it, though, is that you have to draw direct from brain to paper - no time to think about what you're doing, and the coolness of it. Just DRAW!
ACAD alumni Brett McEwen is premiering his film "The Longest War" on Saturday Sept 25 at The Calgary International Film Festival. He produced and directed this documentary about the struggle of the Karen people in Burma (Myanmar). The film was written and filmed by journalist Nelson Rand. Originally from Calgary, Mr. Rand recently returned from Thailand to recover from injuries sustained from being shot while covering the Red Shirt Uprising in Bangkok that occurred earlier this year.
About the film: The fight for an independent homeland automatically brings to mind the bitter and bloody clashes in places like Tibet, Palestine and even Quebec; but few will be familiar with the plight of the Karen of Burma, and their hard-fought battle for a Karen State in eastern Burma since 1949. Filmmaker Brett McEwen and cinematographer Nelson Rand risk life and limb documenting the world’s “longest war,” and bear witness to war crimes, human rights abuses and the destruction and murder of entire villages as the brutal military regime of Burma seeks to eradicate members of the Karen National Liberation Army and its supporters. This is a raw, first-hand account of a people struggling to free themselves from oppression in an area of the world most Canadians can’t find on a map.
