Summary
Guelph Arts Council is pleased to announce that the 2022 Jane Graham Memorial Award will be shared by painter Marjan Kaviani-Arani and multidisciplinary artist Melissa Brunner. Both recipients submitted requests for assistance to pursue specialized professional development opportunities to further their artistic skills and professional networks.
Guelph Arts Council is pleased to announce that the 2022 Jane Graham Memorial Award will be shared by painter Marjan Kaviani-Arani and multidisciplinary artist Melissa Brunner. Both recipients submitted requests for assistance to pursue specialized professional development opportunities to further their artistic skills and professional networks.
Marjan Kaviani-Arani is an Iranian-Canadian artist based in the Toronto and Guelph area. Her work explores the complexity of human suffering and how it manifests in the body. She graduated from the Claude Watson Arts Program and now attends the University of Guelph and is completing her major in Studio Art and minor in Psychology. She recently had solo shows at Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, as well as the Boarding House Arts Gallery in Guelph. Marjan will use the award to further develop her skills in figure drawing and human anatomy through specialized courses and life drawing. See her progress and work to date @marjankavianiarani on Instagram.
Melissa Brunner (she/her) is a Deaf, Queer, Disabled, and Mad multi-disciplinary and insightful visual artist. Her slow dance with visual artistry goes hand in hand with her favourite medium, watercolour. Her work is mainly composed of portraits with the key theme of capturing mood and emotion. She adores navigating facial expressions and carving out sharp lines to layer bright shocks of colours in her work. She began doing commission work in 2020 which eventually led to her artworks being exhibited along with five other Deaf artists during a three-month online incubator for Deaf Interiors, an online exhibition in 2021. She has a passion for community engagement and collective care, in particular for the deaf and hard of hearing 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Melissa will use the award to pursue accessible lessons with an ASL interpreter to further develop her skills in figure drawing. See her progress and work to date @lissart96 on Instagram.
Submissions for this year’s award showed evidence of some very interesting and exciting opportunities for Guelph-Wellington artists, which gives Guelph Arts Council hope of a bright and strong future for Guelph’s artistic community.
Established in memory of local artist Jane Graham following her untimely death in March 2005, the Guelph Arts Council Jane Graham Memorial Fund is managed by The Guelph Community Foundation. As a result, GAC is annually able to assist visual artists residing and actively practising in Guelph-Wellington in pursuing professional development opportunities that will contribute to their artistic growth.
For more information about the Jane Graham Memorial Award program and Guelph Arts Council, please visit guelpharts.ca, phone 519-836-3280 or email [email protected]. For more information about this year’s award recipients, please visit:Marjan Kaviani-Arani http://www.marjankaviani.com or @marjankavianiarani on Instagram Melissa Brunner www.deafinteriors.ca or @lissart96 on Instagram
