May 1, 2010 (Calgary, Alberta) – The Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) is pleased to announce that Amy Gogarty will be awarded the 2010 Board of Governors’ Alumni Award of Excellence at the 2010 ACAD convocation ceremony on May 13th, 2010. This award is given annually to an alumnus or alumna of ACAD who has made a significant contribution to the arts community and has demonstrated excellence in their field of practice. The Board of Governors of ACAD is especially pleased to recognize Ms. Gogarty with this award, and to honour the important contributions she has made to the arts and to the fields of craft internationally. Ms. Gogarty was nominated because of her work in critical theory in the field of craft, the dedication and support she has given to her students and to the artistic community and her establishment of her own active practice as a visual artist.
Amy Gogarty (Painting, 1980) has made an outstanding contribution to the Calgary arts community, and to the larger community of craft, since her graduation from ACAD in 1980. Between 1983 and 1987, she worked as the textile technician at ACAD, inspiring her to establish and fund the Philomela award for outstanding work in textiles during her tenure at the College. Gogarty completed her MFA at the University of Calgary in 1989, and returned to teach at ACAD from 1990 to 2006. Since her graduation from ACA, Gogarty has established an active practice as a visual artist and community supporter, and has contributed to the field of scholarship related to artists and practices associated with craft. She helped found Texts, a journal of critical writing and the arts based in Calgary and her own writing has focused on women artists and artist practices in craft disciplines. She has presented her critical work in international forums and regularly participates as a speaker and organizer for conferences around the world. In total, Gogarty has presented or published over eighty essays related to visual arts and craft practice in Canada and abroad.
Much of Gogarty’s work is grounded in her career as a teacher at ACAD. For sixteen years, she taught in Liberal Studies and throughout this time she emphasized the importance of history and theory to articulating and shaping the nature of artistic practice. As an instructor, she mentored many students, advising them regarding career choices, graduate school options, and most pleasurably, writing about their work as they stepped onto the professional stage. In 2006 Gogarty retired from ACAD to move to Vancouver, where she continues her activities as an artist, writer and educator. She is on the board of the North-West Ceramics Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting contemporary ceramics, and she teachers the history of ceramics practice at Emily Carr University.
ACAD is pleased to honour the important work done by Ms. Gogarty and to celebrate her achievements as one of our alumni of excellence. The 2010 ACAD convocation ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 13th at 2:00 PM in the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
ACAD is a leading centre for education and research, and a catalyst for creative inquiry and cultural development. We engage the world and create possibilities.
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For more information or to arrange an interview:
AnneMarie Dorland, Director of Communications
t. 403.284.7656 c. 403.472.2322 e. AnneMarie.Dorland@acad.ca
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